Chained
by Esperanza Lane
Summary: After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.
1. Never

**Summary: **After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.

**AN: **Thank you for clicking on Chained! If you're uncomfortable with rape scenes, I recommend skipping to the last scene of this chapter, or skipping it all together. This is the only chapter with any detailed rape scenes.

-[Chained]-

She pulls at the chains binding her ankles. She's pulled at them many times, tried to tug them and tug them, but all she managed to move is the bed.

She wants to be gone. She's always wanted that, it's not different that she wants it now. She wanted it when she was first chained, she will always want it. But will she ever have it? As they days go by, the sun spills through the bars and retreats back to the world she's no longer apart of she doubts. She thinks she'll always be here. No, it's not just a thought, it's knowledge. She knows she'll always be here. There is no escape for her, her heart and mind screams in unison.

Where is here? Here... well, she really doesn't know where here is. She knows that here is her prison. How long? The carvings on the frame of the wooden bed tell her it has been one-thousand, eight-hundred and sixty three days. After a moment of calculation, that informs her it's been over five years.

Five years... what has happened in five years? Who has come into power? Who has died? How many people she knew, have forgotten her? What about her work? Has the little bakery shut down, or has if flourished? What laws have been introduced? What wars have been started? What wars have been won and lost? Who has become famous? Who has fallen out of the eye of the public? Her favorite author, Takeshi Mikami, has he written any more books? If so, are they any good? Have any good movies come out? Has Disney released a new film yet? She always loved Disney films. What about her grandmama? Is she still alive? And what about the investigation? Did any one investigate her disappearance? Her grandmama would report it right? Did anyone care though?

Here though... this prison of hers. Five years since she was shoved into, her ankle chained to the wooden post of the bed, and the blind-fold finally removed. She had been taken right off the street, walking back to the apartment she shared with her grandmama from the college campus. She had been attending the local art college. She loved painting. Her grandmama always claimed that she came out of her mom with paint smeared on her cheeks. She knew that wasn't true, but she knew that ever since she first got her hands on paints, there was never time her hands weren't colored with paints.

She hears the door open, and glances up from the metal chain. She sees a familiar man, he's come more than once. He's... what is his name again? Keizou. He's told her to scream "NO! KEIZOU, PLEASE DON'T!" Part of his fantasy is that they've known each other from before. Sometimes she's the girl at the register at the local coffee shop. Other times, she's the temporary secretary who stirs his blood. Every once in a while she's a local librarian who likes the same genre of books he does. But to him, no matter where he pretends he knows her from, she is just a fantasy to him. She hopes he is ashamed of his fantasies, but she doubts he is. If he was ashamed, he wouldn't act upon them would he?

"This time, you jog past my front door every morning, and we chat when you come by because I'm getting the newspaper. Your name is Sakiyo," he informs her as he unbuttons and unzips his jeans. She looks away, eyes downcast. She hears him step out of them and shoves them away with his foot. He pulls off his brick red t-shirt, revealing his grey, hairy chest and beer belly. Keizou is disgusting to her. Revolting. But so are all the men who walk in here and do what they do.

"Sakiyo... Sakiyo my sweetie..." his disgusting voice says as he kneels down beside her. He begins stroking her black hair with his chubby sausage fingers. "Sakiyo, do you know how much I have wanted you? Every day you run by my house in that low-cut tank-top and spandex shorts." He leans in, his scalding breath washing over her ear. "I think you're so attractive Sakiyo." He caresses her cheek, then roughly grabs her chin and makes him face him. "I want you Sakiyo. I want you so, SO bad. Please Sakiyo, please let me have you!"

She knows what to say here, she always knows what to say. She says it to, she'll do what she must. Good behavior gets her food and baths, a blanket and maybe they'll turn on the heater if it gets real cool. "Please Keizou. I won't tell," she breathes. "No one has to know, just let me go," she pleads. "Please, I won't press charges, no one has to know. We'll put this in the past."

He sneers at her before pressing his thin lips to her. His tongue touches her bottom lip, but she k eeps her lips shut tightly as she closes her eyes to keep away the tears. She doesn't have to fake the tears. She doesn't want this. This is just his sick fantasy. This is rape. Real rape, not just fantasy rape. There is a person behind the girl he is making pretend is this Sakiyo. This girl he makes pretend, she guesses that their is a real Sakiyo, and she guesses that the real Sakiyo does jog past his front door every morning in a low-cut tank-top and spandex shorts. The tears are real because she hates this. She is a person, but to him and everyone else that comes in here and keeps her chained, she is just a fantasy.

He pushes her down onto her back and puts his hands around her throat. She gasps for breath instinctively, even though this has been done to a thousand times in the five years. Her neck will always be black and purple, she is certain. Still, she gasps for breath. It's the human thing to do. The men that do this to her, aren't human, she knows this. They wear the skin and body of a human. But what type of human could do this? None, she knows.

"KEIZOU!" she cries as she feels the hard tip poking her lower regions. It still hurts, like the first time, like the fifth time, like the fiftieth time, like the thousandth time. When he forces his member, however average in length it is, it feels unnatural, too large. "KEIZOU!" she screams. "KEIZOU! PLEASE! THIS ISN'T WHAT YOU WANT!"

"This is exactly what I want," he whispers in her ear and he thrusts. He groans in her ear. "This has always been what I wanted. YOU! That is what I want."

He continues thrusting. She continues futily pleading, screaming at the top of her lungs. She knows it's pointless, hopeless. An endeavor that will do her no good. But it helps his fantasy she guesses, and she's logical. She hates him yes, she hates herself for doing what he wants. But she won't give up the pleasure of a bath, or even a cool meal to fill her stomach simply because it disgusts her. What good will that do her? They won't kill her no matter how disobedient she is. Some like disobedience. They'll continue using her to satisfy their customers, no matter her unruly nature. This is better, she guesses.

He finally comes to his climax with a shuddering gasp as he stills above her. She looks towards the grayish ceiling, eyes wide with regret and remorse. They give their women birth control, make them swallow it every night before their allowed to sleep. She's glad. She doesn't want a child that bares the genes of these disgusting men. It may not be the child's fault, but she still could never love a child like that.

She lays their broken as he gets up and puts back on his clothing. She's disgusted. She's filthy and dirty and her body has been used so many times. She's so tired too. Sometimes she just wishes to sleep and never wake up. But she can't. And she's always under surveillance. Suicide is out of the question for her, as much a she craves that sweet relief from the world, she knows they'll never let her have it while she still has value. They'll kill her when they don't need her, but that's too long from now.

"Thank you," says Keizou as he pats his pockets to make sure his wallet and phone are still there. He looks at her laying broken, and sneers. "Rin."

She shoots up from her laying down position, but the door is already closing behind him. She scrambles to her feet to chase after him, but before she even reaches the door she reaches the end of the chain and falls flat on her face. Looking up to the door, there is an aching in her heart.

She hates that to them she is fantasy. She wants them to see her as a person, but she doesn't want them to see her as... well, who she was before the kidnapping, before the rape. Who she was, was none of their business if all they can see her as is their fantasy. Her name was none of their business. They had no right to call her Rin, when to them she was Sakiyo or whatever girl their fantasy called for them. They had no right. To them, she was not Rin.

-[Chained]-

"Don't you FUCKING look at me!" yells the man. This one is new. She's never met him before. She's never been used by him before. He's never raped her before. He's never shoved his penis into her, brutally taking her because it's apart of his fantasy, and he forgets she's a human being.

She closes her eyes, mouth parted as she breathes. His nails are digging into the skin of her hips as he keeps thrusting. God, she fees disgusting. Dirty. So many men have spilled their tainted seed into her, placed their filthy hands on her body, breathed their putrid breath onto her skin. She hates them so much. Besides the brokenness and emptiness that fills her, is the hatred. The hatred for them, the men her see her as their fantasy, the hatred for the other them, the ones that chained her and force her to be just a fantasy, and the final them, men.

It's probably no surprise she hates men by now. Before she was kidnapped and raped, she hadn't had much experience with men. They never spared a glance at her, with her small chest of 32B, her short height of 5'2", and her tussled brown-black hair. Men didn't spare her a glance, drool over, subject her image to their nightly fantasies. She wasn't bothered by that then, and thinking back on it, she relishes in it now. But now she is looked at twice, drool over, subject the real her to their fantasies. That's the only experience she has with men, and she hates it.

She opens her eyes as she feels the warm liquid of another man's foul seed spilled inside her. God, she is disgusted by this. Don't they understand? Don't they realize she is more than just a depository for their wretched semen, more than just a vessel for them to act out their fantasies on? Do the people that lead them to her jail even tell them that she is more than an actress, that she really is a victim and that they really are raping her? If they do tell them that, how many turn away and run away? She doubts any of them do. Maybe they're not told, or they know that coming in.

"I NEVER gave you permission to FUCKING look at me!" hisses the man. She turns her head to the side, biting her lower lip as she feels digging in his nails ever more so. It hurts, more than just the physical hurt, it hurts so much her inner psyche. They think they can do this to her. That it's okay. What they're doing isn't a crime because she no longer exists.

She doesn't look back at him when he gets up and begins to put his clothing back on. She doesn't want to look back at him. Perhaps if she does, and looks at him with her broken and saddened eyes, he would feel bad. She tells herself he doesn't want her to look at him because it will make him feel ashamed. Rationally, she knows it's because it would ruin the fantasy, but she wants to dream. Still she doesn't look at him. She can't bring herself to lay eyes on a monster.

He spits on her before he leaves. She closes her eyes as she feels the cold saliva on her skin. She is gross, because of them. She is covered in filth, because of them. She hates them so much. So, so, much. She wants them to die the most painful death a thousand times over. That won't happened though. She knows that. They get off Scott-free while she is punished for their crimes.

She rolls over and curls herself into a fetal position and lets herself drift to where they cannot touch her.

-[Chained]-

"Get up," someone says. When she doesn't, he kicks her the stomach. She groans, as she curls up further. "Get up bitch, I paid for you, I'm going to use you." Another bastard, she wryly muses. But she does what he tells her to do, uses the frame of the bed to push herself up onto shaky legs. He watches her as she does so, greedily takes in her bruised and battered body. "You're very pretty. I'm going to call you Emiko, beautiful child." Does he like children too, she wonders.

His hands on her flesh again, groping and grabbing. She looks away, towards where the wall meets the floor. His fingers grab her chin and make her look into his sky blue eyes. Is the sky still blue? If she ever leaves, can she look at it without seeing this monster's eyes?

"You're going to look at me Emiko while I love your beautiful body." She nods dully as he lets go of her chin. His fingers trace over the bruises on her neck, traces her collar bone, brushes his fingers over her shoulder. He moves in closer, his street clothed body pressed against her nude form, his breath blowing on her neck. "I like biting people," he whispers before sinking his teeth into her neck. She cries out in pain. When he lets go, her looks into her eyes again. "Do you like me biting you?" She shakes her head. He sneers. "You like me biting you."

He pushes her down and she hits the ground with a muffled scream. "You like me biting you because you like me. You tell me every day Emiko, "I love you!". You know that Emiko, so why do you deny me every time I touch you and bite you. Why do you scream for your mother? Why do you look at me with fear and hatred? Why did you tell people I was hurting you?" he rambles as he presses the bulge in his jeans against her nether regions.

Why does she feel no surprise? Emiko isn't just a woman he created when he laid eyes on her. She's a real woman. A real woman he hurts and tries to rape, if not actually does. He's a deluded man, trapped in a world of fantasy. She feels no sympathy for him, but she pities him. He is such a deluded man. He doesn't deserve to live.

"Why did you stop calling me daddy?" he continues. "Why did you start calling me Manabu, or Mr. Iwata? Why don't you call me daddy anymore?"

She is appalled. Emiko is his daughter? She wants to roll over and puke, but he holds onto her hips as he grinds against her so she can't. Emiko is his daughter? She can't get over that. She's never been the man's daughter in any of their fantasies, at least not as far as she knew. She hopes she hasn't, because that's disgusting. God, she wants to puke so badly. He rapes his daughter. If that is not the lowest point one can reach, she doesn't know how far it can go. She feels no pity for him knowing this. He deserves no sympathy or pity. He can go rot in a whole six-feet deep for all she cares. He deserves to rot hell honestly.

"Call me daddy," he orders as she feels his hips against her.

"No," she grits out. She won't play into this man's fantasies. She can yell and scream at Keizou, and pretend to be the woman he wants so badly that runs past his porch every morning, and she can be just the depository for a man's semen, but she will not pretend to be daughter and object of some sick man's sexual fantasy. Never. She is dirty, but she is not that filthy.

"CALL ME DADDY!" he screams. She shakes her head and closes her eyes. Never is the word she silently communicates. She is not Emiko. When he calls to Emiko, she does not respond. And when he bites into her flesh again, she doesn't let her eyes flutter open as the pain washes over her. Never. And when he comes inside his pants, she doesn't bother to be relieved that it's over, not when she knows he's going to go home to his daughter Emiko with lust still festering inside his shriveled and disfigured heart.

-[Chained]-

"Come on Rin," says one of the workers in her prison. She looks up at the woman. Like many times, she wonders if this woman is raped to. She doubts it though. This woman wears clothing, and has no bruises and bite marks. But then she wonders. Why does she work here when she knows what goes on? When she takes the women used and bruised to bathe off the semen and the sweat. How could someone live like that? She would kill herself before she would do that.

She stood up and followed the sick woman though. Everyone here was sick, at least that's what she said. Not the other victims like her, never. They were not sick. They were victims. But the ones that made them victims, kept them victims, and victimized them were sick. The customers she passed on her way to the paths ogled her, whistled at her. Didn't they see how wrong they were? How wrong their actions and fantasies were? Why couldn't they see this.

The lady opened a door and held it open for Rin. Rin stepped through the door, allowing the warm, humid air to wash over her. The sick woman walks past her and rolls open the fence, and Rin walks past that and into the bath. The hot water broils her, turns her skin red. She doesn't mind though, at least this feeling isn't dirty like all the other feelings the touch her body. At least the feeling washes away the dirt, the semen, the touch of those disgusting, wretched men.

She holds her breath as she dips under the water. She wishes she could just hold herself down under the water, until the water fills her lungs and she no longer has the need to breathe. They'll pull her out though, she knows it. She is still of value to them as a whore that never wanted to be a whore. Still she holds her breath and waits for them to pull her up.

Rough, male hands wrap around her and pull her up. She's thrashing because there was a female that brought her here, not a male. Why is there a male?

He hushes her, stroking her hair. Her brown eyes notice instantly the woman who had brought her in here is handcuffed and being held by some other strong, muscular man. She looks up to the man who pulled out of the water, notes his longer silver hair and golden eyes. He wears a uniform to. A uniform she has fantasized about. A police uniform.

"We've got a victim here," he yells. "Someone get me a blanket." It takes a few moments but someone hands him a blanket and he wraps it around her, which she is beyond grateful for. He picks her up and carries her out, his strong arms around her, comforting. He places her down on one of the paramedic's beds, but she thrashes against the arms, reaching out for him. He saved her, she can't let him go. If she lets him go, she is no longer saved.

So he gets into the ambulance with her and the paramedics. She cringes from their touches, but when he places his hand on her shoulder, she let's them do their job. She catches them calling him officer Sesshomaru.

Officer Sesshomaru... he is her angel.


	2. Yes

**Summary:** After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.

**AN: **Thanks for all the review, favorites, and follows. It means quite a bit to me. I'm sorry for any mistakes you find in my writing, I only have Notepad and myself to check things over, and I was a straight C- student when it came to English class.

-[Chained]-

She lays in the hospital bed, eyes flicking around the sterile room. The walls are painted a turquoise color, and medical machines are pushed against the walls. She is propped up in her bed, sitting up as an IV is attached to her and bandages complete her tragic victim look. She can see out the windows, the nurses and doctors rushing to and fro, the worried family members loitering as they bite their finger nails.

She feels trapped in the tiny hospital room. She wants out, to be in the fresh air, to run and jump. They said she was free now, out of the monsters' grasp, no longer a victim. She isn't free in this cramped hospital room though, fresh air doesn't fill her lungs and she is confined to this bed.

The door to her room opens, and her eyes flick from the window to the person entering. Her angel. Sesshomaru. She is relieved when she lays eyes on his form, his silver hair and golden eyes. He is slipping a cell-phone into his pocket, or at least that's what she's guessing the small, thin piece of plastic is. Phones didn't look like that five years ago, they were bulkier, and they often flipped. She had a flip phone. Silver, off-contract. She dropped it when she was kidnapped, laid eyes on the shattered piece of technology just before the blind-fold slippped in front of her eyes.

"What is your name?" he asks as he pulls a chair to be by her side. He sits down in and folds his hands in front of his chest, fiddling his fingers. "What was the last date you remember as well?"

"Rin," she whispers. "I was there for one-thousand, eight hundred, and sixty-three days."

He nods. "Last name please."

It takes her a moment to recall the last name. In her prison, she had no use for such a thing. Only the workers there, and evidently Keizou, even knew what her name had been. She hasn't had to use her last name in five years. They say the brain forgets unnecessary information, and in five years, her brain and she too thought that her last name was unimportant.

"Matsumoto," she murmurs.

He nods again, pulls out his phone and hits the screen a few times. "Do you recall any names of family members, and if you could, phone numbers that belonged to them?" he asks, looking up from his phone to her. She hesitates, looks at him with questions in her glimmering brown eyes. "Procedure. I need to know who you are, and I assume you would like some family members here." She nods.

"Domon Kaede," she informs. "I don't remember a phone number." She feels useless as she admits it. Certainly there was more than one Domon Kaede. A name was nothing to go off. She is useless, she knows it. "She was my grandmama, she would be seventy-three now. We lived together in Tokyo near Tokyo Art University."

"Thank you," he responds, standing again. "I will make a few phone calls, try to get her down here." He begins to walk towards the door. "Oh yes," he starts, turning to look at her "the doctors say you should be able to leave in a couple hours." Rin nods, and her angel leaves the room aain.

He returns a few minutes later, she knows because she was watching the clock the entire time. He slips his phone into his pocket again, an emotionless line drawn with his lips. He sits in the chair again, sighing as he closes his eyes and pulls his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry to inform you that Domon Kaede died of a Cancerous brain tumor two years ago." Rin looks at Sesshomaru in shock, mouth agape. No. Never. That doesn't happen. Luck finally stumbles across her, and her only other angel has left the world. "Do you have any other family members?" She shakes her head. "I'm very sorry for your loss then."

She wryly muses at his wording. She, having suffered so much abuse at the hands of men, wondered for a moment if he would have said that if she had another family member in the wings, awaiting a fateful call. Then she snaps herself from that. Her angel cares, he saved her, of course he cares.

"Do you have any friends you want me to get a hold of?" he asks when he sees her crestfallen expression. He leans forward in his chair, and she seems the glimmering care in his eyes. She is silly. Of course he cares, she can see his care. He wouldn't be a cop if he didn't care, wouldn't have pulled her from the bath, wrapped her in a blanket, gave her to paramedics, and rode with her to the hospital. If he didn't care, he wouldn't be here asking if she had any friends.

"No," she says with a shake of her head. Perhaps that's why the people who chose her, chose her. She didn't have friends, she was a loner. Her only family was her aging grandmama who was... she can't say it. No. Never. Those words she knows quite well, no and never.

"Okay." Silence stretches for moments. The minutes tick by. It is an awkward silence. She is used to silence, when she is alone that is, but when she is with men, she is used to being screamed at. She pulls herself from that though. Sesshomaru isn't like the men that screamed at her and raped her. He is good and kind. He cares. He would never hurt her like those men did, never scream at her. She can trust him. She is just paranoid.

"I'm going to go and get you some clothing and food, I'll be back in thirty minutes to and hour. Any requests?" She glances at him, racking her brain for what she might want. There are many things she wants now. To be free of these sterile hospital walls. To see her grandmama again. To have paints to paint away her hatred and sadness.

"Long sleeves, jeans," she murmurs. "WacDonald's... a cheeseburger with pickles, onions, mustard, and ketch-up." That sounds good. All she's been getting these past five years has been rice and fish, maybe some steamed broccoli if she is lucky, teriyaki sauce if she is really lucky. "Some orange soda to." She loves orange soda, or at least five years ago she did. Dirty water and the salt water of the baths is all she's had to drink in five years. She misses the taste of orange soda.

He nods and leaves, she looks at the clock the entire time she is gone. The only times she looks away from the clock, is when the nurses enter and check on her. She is fine. They try to make small chat with her, but she doesn't bother with it. She looks away, stays silent, and lets her blank eyes speak volumes. She's good at conveying things with her eyes now. She is a perfect actor. Maybe it would be best if she became an actress, she would be world-reknowned certainly.

He returns with the bag of WacDonald's and the clothing. He sets the clothing down on the bedside table, and she notes the red color of the fleece jacket, the purple long sleeve shirt, and the blue jeans. She nods at the choice, turning her eyes to the food with greed shining in her. He hands the paper bag to her and she's immediately digging in and grabbing the burger. He got her two! How sweet. She pulls both out, sets one aside, and leaves the other on her lap before giving him the bag with his salad inside. He has also placed the cup of orange soda beside her bed, and a water bottle she guesses it's for him.

"Thank you," she mumbles around a mouthful of delicious WacDonald's cheeseburger. Oh, it's delicious. She hasn't had something so delicious in five years. She'll get fat, certainly, but she's never going back to eating cold rice, fish, and steamed vegetables. Cheeseburgers every night if she can make it happen. And when she reaches over to take a sip of the orange soda, oh it's heaven on her tongue. Much better than other liquids that have been there on her tongue. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she says in excitement as she moves to unwrap the next cheeseburger.

A knock sounds on the door, and she looks up from licking her fingers after eating the second cheeseburger. It's a doctor, holding his clipboard in his large hands and dressed in a white lab coat. Her eyes widen with fear. She knows this man. She's met him so many times.

Keizou...

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" she screams, shrinking back into the pillows. "NO!" she screams again as he holds a hand out in a motion that says stop. Instantly her angel is up from his chair, holding his gun out at Keizou. Somewhere inside of her she is screaming for Sesshomaru to shoot the man. Keizou deserves to die so much.

"Put your hands where I can see them!" Sesshomaru yells. Instantly Keizou drops the clipboard, and it clacks against the tile floor. He raises his hands slightly, eyes wide with fear. They flick to Rin, and realization dawns in them. Sesshomaru too turns to look at the girl cowering in fear. "What's going on here."

"He was one of..." she gulps loudly, "one of the customers. His name is Keizou."

Sesshomaru turns to look at the man sweating with fear, face red. "Your name?" Sesshomaru orders, shaking the gun. Keizou's eyes widen, though it seems impossible for them to widen any further.

"Hamasaki..." he mumbles. Sesshomaru's golden eyes narrow, finger twitching on the trigger. Keizou drops the gaze of Sesshomaru. "Hamasaki Keizou," he whispers. Then he looks back up at Sesshomaru with triumph in his blooming smirk and brown eyes. "But that proves nothing. Simply because this lunatic says I raped her and I share the name of her rapist, it means nothing. You have no grounds."

"You have neighbor named Sakiyo," Rin blurts out. "She runs past your house every morning and stops to talk to you while you grab the newspaper. She wears a low-cut tank-top and spandex shorts." She gropes for more information. "Two-hundred and sixty-three days ago there was a temporary secretory named Ran. You were attracted to her, and when you propositioned her, she shot you down. Four-hundred and thirty-one days ago, you wanted me to pretend that I was a woman named Shizuka, she works at the local bookstore and she likes the same genre of books you do, thrillers, and even likes the same author you do, Terasawa Rinko."

His face is flushed now as he stares at her with wide eyes once more, mouth open as he gropes for something more. "Tha-that doesn't mean anything!" he hisses. "I don't know any of those women anyways, and my favorite genre of book is action."

"Why don't we go take a look at the records of temporary secretaries in the hospital? See if any of them were named Ran and worked her around two-hundred and sixty-three days ago."

She can see him sweating. He lowers one of his hands to tug at his collar and push a lock of hair that slipped out back behind his ear. "Coincidence if it's true..." he murmurs. She stares at him with her broken eyes, and he meets her gaze. He bows his head, eyes shut tightly. "Please forgive me..." he murmurs. "I'm sorry, so, so sorry. Please forgive me Rin."

"That's an admission of guilt, and it's recorded," Sesshomaru says as he lowers his gun and walks towards Keizou. Keizou slowly begins to turn around, but Sesshomaru shoves him against the wall and handcuffs him. "You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say and do can be held against you in a court of law."

He forces Keizou out of the door, and she can see people stopping and staring at the handcuffed doctor and police man through the windows. She is glad though. There is a monster going away to a place where he can no longer hurt others like he hurt her.

A nurse comes in and helps unhook her IVs and checks her out real quickly. She smiles as the nurse asks if she needs anything more, and says no. The nurse leaves. Rin grabs the clothing and slips into it. It feels good to have clothing on her, unfamiliar but good. She tugs on her sleeves to make sure they hide as much as they can, and ties the laces of the shoes he also provided for her. It takes her a moment to remember how to tie a show. Pathetic, she thinks, but she remembers that it's the brains fault. And anyway, she never thought she would ever tie a shoelace again.

She's sitting on the edge of the bed when Sesshomaru enters again. His gun is tucked away again, and Keizou is no where in sight. She is glad to see her angel, he makes her feel better. He sits down in the chair, and leans forward, clasping her hands in his.

"I need you to come down to the station to make a statement against Mr. Hamasaki, and give us anymore information you have. I can take you to a hotel though if you want to do it tomorrow. It's not something we have to have immediately." She meets eyes with him.

"Please don't leave me..." she begs

He sighs, shaking her hands before lowering his head. "I understand that Ms. Rin, and I haven't left your side yet unless I had to. It's understandable why you want me with you though. I saved you so you feel safe with me where you don't feel safe with the rest of the world."

"Please don't make me into a psych class," she begs again. Sesshomaru smirks and nods his head in understanding. "I can't sleep without you nearby," she mumbles.

"You haven't tried yet," he points out. She gives him a pointed glare, and he nods again. "Alright, alright. Let's go down to the station, let me interview you, and then we can go back to my apartment. I have an extra room, you're free to use it. Does that sound alright with you?"

"Okay," she mumbles with a nod. He lets go of her hands and stands, grabbing a bag he had brought in when he had entered the room. He hands it back to her and she looks inside while they walk towards the counter. More cheeseburgers. Yes. Hey, she thinks with a smile, isn't that the first time she's said yes? Yes, yes, yes. It's good to say yes rather than no or never. Very good. She wants to never say no and never again. Yes, yes, yes.

-[Chained]-

She has already given her testimony regarding Keizou. They said it would be very helpful, so she believes them. They said that they'll use it against him at trial, and that while it would be helpful for to personally testify there, this can be used if she so chooses not to be there. She doesn't know yet rather she will go or if she will stay.

"Can you tell me of any other men like Keizou," Sesshomaru says as he sits across from her, hunched over papers and twirling a pen in his fingers. Besides him is a voice recorder. It so smalls, she wonders in amusement. How much has technology changed since she disappeared? Certainly not that much. Five years? That isn't that much time for change, is it? But it is, in five years the only woman who ever cared for her died of Cancer. Yes, five years is enough time for significant change she decides.

But that's not the question at hand. She recalls the men who disgust her in her mind, knowing it is for the greater good despite the pain and anguish that tears at her as she sits curled up in the chair, hand against her mouth as she recalls the memories. They are not pleasant memories but the greater good is the great good. It is for everyone's sake, she reminds herself, and she is okay with the pain she subjects herself to.

"Iwata Manabu," she murmurs. "He's in his mid-forties, maybe early fifties. He has blue eyes. He has daughter name Emiko. He lusts after her." Rin gulps. "He made me pretend I was her. She told people that he molested her, but I guess no one did anything about that."

"Anyone more?" he prods.

"So many," she mordantly muses aloud. "Um, there was one with black hair and green eyes, he was missing his ring finger on his right hand. He called himself Akashi, smelled like alcohol. There was Keiji too. He has a club foot. He's Japanese, black hair brown eyes. I would guess six foot. He pretended I was his ex-wife Kaoru who cheated on him with a man named Susumu who she later married."

She continues to tell him the many men. It is surprising how many of them gave her names for her to scream. As they say, it is evidently the men closest to you that want to hurt you. At least, that's what she guesses because all of them wanted her to know them when they forced themselves on her. They gave her details about their life, wanted her to be apart of it that no one would ever see. Some men who would become he regular visitors would tell her about their day, where they worked. The trusted her. They never thought she'd escaped. She doesn't care that now that she's escaped, she's giving up everything she knows about them to the police. She may be betraying their trust in their eyes, but she never wanted their trust in the first place.

When she is done, she notices the stack of paper that has piled up and Sesshomaru shaking his hand like it is cramped. She looks towards the clock. It's been over an hour. She got so caught up in telling them everything she knew... She doesn't care though, it's good they know. She gave them every detail she could recall. They deserved be locked away, the key thrown away.

"It is surprising how much you know," he comments as he looks through the papers. "We didn't find much in the way of files, names given to customers and data about who they went for but no real names, photos, work places, or home addresses. You'd think if they chose this place for the safety of the operation, they wouldn't give away so much to the women." He looks up at her, and notices her arched eyebrow. "The information will be very helpful though. We may call you in to identify people as well."

"If it means they'll be punished, I'll do anything," she blurts out. He looks at her with wide eyes, mouth agape as if he had been about to say something. Then he closes his mouth and nods his head in understanding. What is their not to understand? Is not revenge a dish we all wish to serve to those that have hurt us? Is it not right for her to feel this way?

"I want them locked away as well," he says calmly. "I'm supposed to inform you that we recommend you see a counselor, and that you don't take justice into you own hands. We understand that it may seem like the best route of action, to hurt those that hurt you, but that will do nothing in the long run besides hurt you more. The justice system will prevail, so please don't think you must do it yourself."

"I'm not stupid," she says wryly.

"I never said you were. It is just a blanket statement I must give to all victims." She nods, and then a thought strikes her.

"Will the press like to speak with me?"

He sighs, his lips drawing into a frown. "Highly likely. We have yet to release details of the bust, but now that we have more information, there will be a press meeting held tomorrow at eight. We won't give out names of victims, so it will take some time for the hounds to sniff you out, but once you're discovered, everyone will be clamoring to interview you. My recommendation, don't talk. It just leads to more pain then you'd ever want to deal with."

"Thank you for the recommendation," she says, hand clasped against her chest. Her eyes glass over with determination as she looks at Sesshomaru. "But I want everyone to know who I am, that I was a victim. I want the men that did this to me to know that I'm working with the police to catch their ass' and send them to jail where they rightfully belong."


	3. Knowledge

**Summary: **After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.

**AN: **Thank you for the reviews guys, and I hope you enjoy the third chapter of Chained. I'm sorry this one is a little shorter than the other chapters, though it is still above 3,000 words. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer.

-[Chained]-

When Rin hears the clomping of feet outside her door, she thinks she's back in her prison, and coming towards her door is another monster wanting to hurt her. She shoots up in her bed, eyes snapping around the room, but then she notices the red light signaling that there is a turned off TV, the light pouring through the window, and the other tell-tale sign that she is not back in her prison. She remembers then, that after she had given the police the information, Sesshomaru had taken her back to his apartment. He had given her one of his overly large T-shirts, and told her he would take her clothe shopping the next day. She went to bed the night before with safety allowing her to sleep.

She pushes back the comforters, takes her clothing from the day prior, and goes into the bathroom to change. She is safe with Sesshomaru yes, but she feels better when she is covered from head to toe. Spending five years completely naked, without any form of covering, has made her feel unsafe in her own skin. She's isn't safe without clothing, at least, that is how she feels now though she realizes it is unrational.

Tossing the overly large T-shirt on the bed, she pads to the door and unlocks it with a click. Slowly, she opens it and peaks around to see what is going on. She is greeted with the delicious scent of bacon and French toast. It is heaven to her nostrils, and quickly she is padding towards the kitchen, passing the TV tuned to the local news station, and the couch that looks like someone slept on it. When she reaches the kitchen, her eyes land on her angel... her shirtless angel.

He glances up from the pan to her, and notices her downcast eyes and fidgeting hands. "I'm sorry, give me a moment and I'll go get a shirt." She nods and goes to sit on the couch, curling up into the velvety material that feels like it can swallow her, her eyes and ears focused intently on the news.

"For all of those just tuning in, we will be covering the Police press conference at eight," says the news reporter as Rin's eyes flick towards the clock, noting the boxy blue numbers stating it is seven-forty. "For now though, let's turn to our weatherman for the forecast."

The weather report informs her the high will be sixty-two degrees Fahrenheit, sixteen degrees Celsius. It is probably too warm for her long-sleeve shirt and fleece jacket, but she doesn't care, this is what makes her most comfortable. The news then switches to the news reporter again, wearing a bright smile encircled with maroon lipstick, and a red dress suit.

"In fifteen minutes, we will be covering the police press conference regarding a human trafficking ring that was taken down yesterday. To catch all of those who haven't been following coverage of this incident, already two men are suspected to have been arrested in connection as customers, and nearly thirty people have been arrested as part of the ring. It is currently unknown how many people have been rescued from the ring. Let's move onto our Health Watch now."

With a clang, Sesshomaru slides her plate of bacon, eggs, and French toast onto the coffee table. She nods her appreciation, eyes glued to the TV even though she doesn't care that two people have fallen ill with a disease that hasn't been recorded in Japan in over two decades. She doesn't want to look up at the half-naked man. She hears him pad away, and she makes a grab for the food.

Oh, it's as delicious as the cheeseburgers were the day before. The toast is delicious, sweet on her tongue thanks to the powdered sugar he has sprinkled on it. The bacon is heaven in her mouth, practically melting on her tongue. Oh, to think she has gone without such good food for five years. She knows she'll never force herself to eat only mediocre food again, life is too short to give up the right to eat food so good.

Her eyes flick to the TV when she notices a change in the image, finishing off the last of her bacon and sliding the plate back onto the table. Chatter is heard from the speakers as the cameras focus on the police woman with blond hair pulled back into a pony-tail, wearing a blue business suit. Her eyes are now glued to the TV, because she knows this is the police press conference she has been waiting for. She feels the couch sink beside her, and her eyes momentarily flick to see her angel sitting down next to her in grey sweats and a white short-sleeved T-shirt. Then she hears the tell-tale thumping of someone tapping on a microphone and her brown eyes are back on the TV.

"It's eight o'clock now so I would like to start with this," says the woman in accented Japanese. Silence fell over the crowd. "As you are all aware, yesterday we busted a large human trafficking ring. We have been trying to bust the ring for many years now, but we have not had enough information regarding the ring. A few months ago, we received an anonymous tip regarding the location of the ring. We sent in an undercover agent to work there, and we quickly gathered enough information. We went in yesterday and rescued seventeen female adults and children, and four male children. We made twenty-eight arrests of employees at the ring. We have made two arrest currently of customers, though we are on the search for more."

"Are they any names you can release?" someone shouts from the audience.

"One of the victims has asked that we release her name along with a message. Matsumoto Rin went missing five years ago. The investigation into her case went on for three months before we filed it away with the other cases of victims." The blonde woman flips through some of the papers. "I am quoting what Ms. Matsumoto asked us to say. 'I've been held hostage, raped, starved, and beaten for five years. All I want now are the men that did this to me to be brought to justice for the crimes they have committed against me and others. If you have done this, I am begging you to turn yourself in. If you know anything, I am begging you to turn the information over to the police."

A smile tugs at Rin's lips when the blonde woman finishes reading the letter she had requested be read. While there wasn't much emotion in her voice, she doesn't care, she is just happy with the fact the world now hears her words, and that she is no longer just a faceless women chained in a dark, dank cell to be used and abused.

"Are there any names of people arrested that you can release?" someone else asks in an annoyed tone of voice. She rolls her eyes. The victims deserve more attention than the men who made them victims.

"Hamasaki Keizou was arrested yesterday in connection as a customer. Ms. Matsumoto personally gave a testimony against him, and many details do line-up. His trial date is pending.

"We have also arrested Iwata Manabu as a customer, and also for sexually abusing his own daughter. Ms. Matsumoto helped get him. His trial date is also pending."

The questions continue. She is just glad though that two of the many people that violated have been shown to be the monsters that they are, and that the world knows she exists even though just mere days ago, she did not. She tunes out the TV as she sit curled up into herself, a small smile glimmering behind the hand that covers her lips. She is glad. People know. She is not nothing. She is not an invisible being. She is not a fantasy. She is a person again. Rin Matsumoto. It seems silly in the back of her mind, but it is like having her name read on TV by some stuffy blonde woman is like the acknowledgement to her that she does exist. She is glad for that.

She feels the sixth-sense pressure that someone is watching her, and meets the golden gaze of her angel. He seems to have noticed that she is no longer paying attention to the press conference. She cannot tell what he is feeling though. His eyes are blank to her, but not the sad blankness she tends to show, just a blankness, a wall of stoicism.

"What are you feeling?" she asks in a barely audible whisper. She doesn't like it that she can't read her angel. She knows that sounds silly too. We cannot know everything, we cannot read everyone. Some people lock away emotion. Some people hide their thoughts. If they are hiding something, that means they don't want it known. That is the definition, no? Still, it makes her feel like she is in the dark, and she does not like being in the dark. She has been in the dark too long. She wants to be in the light.

"I wanted to become a therapist once," he murmurs, looking away. She looks too, to wear his gaze is pointed, and finds her eyes landing on the bookshelf. She reads the titles. They are psychology text-books, or non-fiction books regarding a persons mental state, at least that's what she assumes from the information the spine gives her. "I was curious about people, I wanted to know what made them tick. I have always had a fascination with how people feel, and what they think. Then my father was murdered, and I knew I wanted revenge. I changed studies, and became an officer." He then turns to look back at her, his golden gaze, filled with what she now realizes as a studious curiosity rather than emotionless blankness, on her once more. "I am still curious about people. I find myself curious about you, how you are feeling after all of this. I cannot imagine what one would feel in your situation."

She nods. "I'm... feeling many things. It is hard to describe. I feel happy; I am saved. I am full of the need for revenge; those men hurt me. I feel free; I am no longer chained. I still feel dirty though; they still touched me. I feel ashamed; I should cry, right? I feel needy; I need you, I need people to know, I need so much. I feel like a burden; I need so much of everyone else. I feel alone; I have one person in all the world, and those I had before, are gone. I feel like I cannot trust anyone; everyone seems to me like someone who has hurt me or could. I feel many things, as I've said."

He nods too. "It seems reasonable to feel that though." He yawns then, stretching his arms out. He then pats his grey sweat-clad legs. "Are you ready to go shopping in about thirty minutes? I just need to shower and change."

She smiles, though it is a dim smile. "Okay."

-[Chained]-

She is browsing through the racks at one of the local department stores. She is looking at the fleece jackets like the red one she is wearing currently. She has a blue fleece jacket, an orange one, a green one, and purple one over her arm. She has also looked through the long sleeved T-shirts already, has a selection of ten resting on her arm. The clothing she has already gathered are very heavy. Her angel told her that she shouldn't worry about money. He has enough money to buy her what she wants.

She feels kind of like a pet, though she knows that her angel would never see her as a pet. Years of conditioning herself to hate men, to see them as the monsters that lurk beneath the surface, has only taught herself to see the bad. She knows he does not see her as a pet, but she cannot help herself. She feels like the pet of a wealthy man. Spoiled beyond imagination. He allows her to buy whatever she wants, since his pockets are deeper than the Marianas Trench.

"You buying a new wardrobe?" asks a red-haired woman. She can tell instantly that she is half-Japanese and half-American. She has an accent to. Rin nods her head, hoping the red-haired woman will leave her alone. "Why?" she asks. Rin notices that the woman is chewing gum.

"I don't have any other clothing," Rin whispers. She can feel the weight of the woman's green eyes on her. It's a heavy weight. The woman must think she is ridiculous. Rin hopes though that she will return to browsing at the clothing though, hopes the woman will leave her alone.

"You one of those tramps?" she asks. Rin snaps her eyes to her instantly, disbelief and shock in her eyes. Tramps? What does she mean? And why would she ask that? Five years ago, you didn't just ask someone if they were a tramp. "You know, one of those tramps they 'rescued' that accused men of being rapists. Hamasaki Keizou was one of the men they accused, and he was my brother. He would never do something like that."

"Yes, I am a VICTIM," Rin says sternly. Victims are not tramps. They did not ask for it. They were RAPED. "Everyone is capable of evil," she says as well. Because everyone is. She learned that in those long five years. Just because you think you know someone, does not mean that you really know them.

Then the red-haired woman starts laughing. Rin watches her with wide brown eyes, full of hurt and disgust. Someone can laugh at a victim. That is low. Nearly as low as the people that made her a victim, though not quite there.

"No, you're a tramp who didn't realize that she didn't want to whore herself until it was too late, and then blamed it on the men she originally signed up to fuck." The woman pauses to laugh again, wiping tears away from her eyes like it is the most hilarious joke ever. "There are people in this world that are evil, but Keizou was not one of the. He was a doctor for God's sake. How could he be evil? You're just a lying, conniving, EVIL bitch who just wants to ruin everyone to get attention."

Rin opens her mouth to say someone, but the red-haired woman is already walking away. She feels like calling out tot he woman, calling her back to give her a piece of her mind and maybe slap her if she can. She doesn't though. She doesn't want to look the woman in the eyes and see the stupid disbelief. But she cannot help but have a pain stabbing her in the heart as she picks through the clothing.

In the car ride back to Sesshomaru's apartment, she cannot help but be silent. She knows that her angel keeps glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes. He notices her silent demeanor. But she keeps silent, sunken into her seat as she holds onto her knees, the laughter of the woman ringing in her ears.

When they arrive at Sesshomaru's apartment, she hops out of the car as quickly as she can, and rushes to the trunk. She attempts to open it, but she can't, for some reason the trunk is locked. So she waits impatiently, arms crossed over her chest, toe tapping, fingers thrumming, and peering around the side of the car to see when Sesshomaru is coming. It feels like an eternity before he opens the car door and gets out, though it has probably only been a minute or two. That is a few minutes too long to her, but to any other person that probably seems perfectly normal. She does not know, she does not care.

When he approaches her and the rear of the car, the questioning gaze that lingers on her is heavy too. It seems like everyone's gazes are heavy today. She hunches up her shoulders, and looks away from him. She hears him sigh before he unlocks the trunk and pops it open.

She quickly makes a grab for her bags. She just wants to get inside and lock herself in her room, curl up in her sheets, and shut out the world. She knows she is letting the woman get to her. How can she help it though? The woman thought she was a TRAMP, not a victim. That Keizou, one of her 'regulars' had been the real victim, that she was falsely accusing someone of raping her even though she WAS raped.

She feels fingers wrap around her wrist though, and she is instantly rigged, stiff and nervous. Her eyes travel up the length of the arm, to the golden and silver hair of her angel. He is looking at her expectantly.

"Someone said that I was..." she cannot say it. But she must. "That I was a tramp," the last word drips with disgust. "She said she was Keizou's sister. She didn't believe me. She thought he was innocent." Her eyes sting. She knows what is coming. It used to happen so often. But then the energy spent on it became too much, and she just stopped.

She is about to cry.

He pulls her against his chest, and her eyes are wide in shock. He holds her against him, stroking her hair and patting her lower back. She is surprised at first, but then she relaxes into his hold. Her angel, he is being her angel again. She lets the dam break in his hold, lets the tears flow. People have probably expected her to cry for so long, and now she does.

"Shush," he hushes as she sobs into his white shirt. "It's alright. It'll be okay." His voice sounds strained, like he does not know how to comfort, but she doesn't care, she just sobs into his chest. "It's called victim blaming. It is a form of denial. Denial is a part of grieving. She is grieving over the loss of the brother she knew. I am not excusing her," he quickly covers, "it is not excusable, but I am not too surprised."

She continues to sob into his chest though, his words overriding the words of the woman. Was she to expect that now? That people would hate her for things that that were not hers to control? She does not know, she hopes not though. All she knows though is that she is sobbing into her angel.


	4. Need

**Summary: **After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.

**AN: **Another chapter. Sorry it's late, I've been sick. Gotta thank my fiance for taking care of me, and I've also gotta thank all of the reviewers. You guys mean a ton to me! Please don't forget to review.

-[Chained]-

The room is filled with darkness. She still hates the darkness, though it is not the same dank darkness that filled her prison. Still, she hates the darkness. That is why, when she sits up in her bed, she reaches over and pulls the little metal chain attached to the lamp on her bedside table. A yellow, warm light bathes the room and her. She is glad she can see now, as her eyes flick around, and bathe in the scenery she is so glad she is a part of.

The only light in the room is the light the lamp bathes her in. That, and that little red light from the TV that says that it's turned off. She's never understood that. Why is their a light to the say the TV is off? She think there should be no light, as no light signalizes that something is sleeping or dead. And anyways, what if you are sleeping in the same room as a TV? That is annoying, no? Pesky? Not detrimental, but it would be so much nicer if the room was completely bathed in the darkness.

She turns the TV on. She is bored. There is no light outside, the sun has yet to rise. The clock tell her that it is three in the morning. Understandable. After she broke down the day before and finally sobbed out all of her pain, Sesshomaru had helped her inside, made her some pasta, and then said good night to her as she went to bed at the late hour of four in the afternoon. Eleven hours. It was a good sleep.

She is about to browse through the channels, perhaps find some sappy romantic drama to fill the stretching boredom before her, but the current show catches her attention. It is a talk show. Why there is a talk show on at three in the morning escapes her, but then she realizes that it is a rerun from earlier in the day. How boring, she muses. She is ready to change the channel to the drama she had mentioned earlier, when the talk shows topic catches her attention. It is of the human trafficking ring, the one she was held hostage in, the one that made her a victim. Perhaps it is morbid curiosity, but she cannot help the desire that overcomes her to know what they are saying. Good or bad? Are they like her and any other rational person, or are they like Keizou's sister? That question pains her since it should not be a question in the first place, but she is curious so she watches.

It does not take much to realize which side of the fence they camp on is. It is the disgusting side, the side which also will find Keizou's sister camping, laughing mercilessly. She is disgusted; disgusted to the point where she wants to puke, but she does not find herself turning away from the talk show. The black remotes rest beside her on the bed, but she makes no move with her fiddling fingers to grab it. It is like a car crash, she supposes. She knows it's horrifying, but she cannot turn her eyes away. It's sheer horror draws her in and doesn't let her go, holds her down and forces her to watch.

"I get it," one of the women said, rolling her eyes, "they're trying to crack down on prostitution since it is illegal, though we all know my thoughts on that, and they're trying to sway public opinion by saying these women were held hostage and raped, and to add insult to injury, they're claiming that children were also held hostage and raped. I don't believe a word of it, honestly. It's a political move. Views on prostitution are changing, people don't see why it's illegal. Neither do I!"

"I agree with you," said one of the other women in breathy tone, a smug look on her lips. "It's nothing but a political move to try and scare everyone. Scare tactics like this are pathetic, and that Rin girl who wanted her name out there, totally an attention whore."

Another woman, then scratched her chin. "Indeed. I knew both of the men she accused of raping her. Hamasaki Keizou was an upstanding member of the community, a good friend of mine and of my sister Sakiyo's. We know him. He would never do anything this Rin woman accused him of. He is innocent I swear. I would die if they delivered him a guilty verdict because I know he could never do this. And as for Manabu, he's bit eccentric, and definitely an over-protective father, but he would never hurt his daughter, sexually abuse her, or rape another woman. If he's going and picking up prostitutes, fine, he's a widow, he deserves some loving. But to accuse both men of rape is absolutely disgusting, and completely and utterly false. Liar, Liar, pants on fire. Just remember that Ms. Rin."

The first woman raised up her hand and the group of women feel silent. "So are we all in agreement that the information provided was stretched beyond the truth? That it's a nay?" All of the women nodded. "Well, let's move onto our next subject, the new Disney movie Frozen. Yay or nay?"

She doesn't care to hear what these women say about the Disney movie, though she does make a mental note to go and see it sometime. She changes the channel to some true crime show. She doesn't know, but besides reruns of some talk show and infomercials, there isn't much on. She doesn't care anyways, as she curls up into her pillow with sound of some ominous female's voice filling her ears.

She can't believe there are more people out there like Keizou's sister. People who don't even have blood relationships to the monsters. Yet they still protect them, still defend them even when the evidence is stacked against them. Even when there is a woman in pain, nothing more than a shell of herself, who will swear by her life that those were some of the many men who hurt her. There is nothing defensible in those men. They are monsters, plain and simple. They don't deserve sympathy or doubt, they wronged her, the deserve punishment. But those women don't see it, do they? They're to wrapped up in their politics to care? They see everything as nothing more than an attack on them and their beliefs? They'll deny the facts because they want to see everything as a challenge, no? It disgusts Rin nearly as much as the hands on her flesh disgusted her.

-[Chained]-

She doesn't know where she is. At least, at first she doesn't, but then she takes in the sights. She knows instantly once she recognizes the place that she is dreaming. How else? How else could she be back in her old apartment, where she and Kaede lived before she was kidnapped and chained to a bed for five years? By now, she is certain a new family lives in the apartment, that the floor in her room has been washed and no longer is splattered with paint. Still, she stands among the place she dreamed of returning to naught but a week before.

Rin is overcome with sadness as she stands among her place of old. She wishes she could return to it, but knows she can't. And when her brown eyes land on the smiling, wrinkled face of her grandmama, she wishes she could see that smile again in the real world, but knows she can't.

"My, how you've grown," speaks Kaede's raspy voice. "Your hair is longer, it looks good that way. And your face, it conveys that you've seen beyond on your years. How I wish I could've been there when they rescued you. I would've pulled you into my arms and told you everything would be okay. At least you have someone to do that now."

Rin is left mute after her grandmama finishes speaking. She knows that her grandmama is nothing but of figment of her mind conjured to comfort her when she needs comfort, but she cannot help but feel as if it is her grandmama speaking down to her from Heaven. She rushes to hug her grandmama, who gives a small umph when they collide. She is safe in her grandmama's arms, she knows that, she is glad for that. Her grandmama would never doubt what happened, say she is lying like those cruel women in denial say.

"Why are you so sad?" Kaede asks. Rin gives her grandmama a small smile, a sad smile, then buries her head in her grandmama again. Her grandmama has always been there, and she is glad to have her now.

When Rin was seven, her parents were killed in a gang shooting, caught in the crossfire of something that was never their fault. They lived in a bad neighborhood then, where street gangs ruled and everyone locked the doors, never walked the alleyways. Her grandmama took custody of her then, gave her paints and art books, took her to art shows, even got her a teacher to help her skill advance. Her grandmama had always looked after her, always took care of her.

"It's alright," her grandmama says as she strokes her hair. "It'll be alright."

-[Chained]-

When she awakes once more, it is seven in the morning and dawn spills through her window. She doesn't know if Sesshomaru is up yet, but she knows she wants one thing now. She wants to visit her grandmama's grave. It's what she needs to do, not just what she wants to do. There is so much she wants to do after her dream, she wants to go to an art museum, and she wants to buy some paint and an easel, but right now, she needs to go visit her grandmama.

She puts on a black turtle neck, a jean skirt that reaches her ankles, and grabs a jean jacket for when she is outside. It was February, it was cold out still. She unlocks the door and pokes her head around. This time, she is greeted by the smell of coffee. Her angel is awake.

His eyes flick to her when she approaches, and then he reaches to pull out a second mug. This morning, he is wearing a shirt and sweats, which she is glad for, though she will be more glad when he is wearing jeans and a different, less stained shirt and they are on the move to go visit her grandmama.

"So what do you want to do today?" he asks as he sets the coffee cup in front of her. "Creamer, sugar?" he asks as he walks towards his fridge. She shakes her head. Surprisingly, at least to her grandmama, she always liked her coffee black just like she never liked sweetener in her tea. She wonders if the straight coffee will be as good as she remembers it. And yes, it is, it's heaven on her tongue.

"People are always surprised that I don't like mine black," her angel comments as he pours creamer into his. She gapes at how much he pours into. She feels like asking if he wants some coffee with his creamer. She is even more surprised when he dumps in three sugar cubes. Damn, talk about the opposite of black. "It's the weekend so I've got today and tomorrow off, so what do you want to do?"

She takes another sip of her coffee, mentally steadying herself as she prepares the words. "I want to visit my grandmama."

He nods as he sips his own creamer. She calls it creamer because she cannot in good conscious call it coffee, there is more creamer and sugar in it then there is coffee. "That's doable. I'll have to look up where she is buried, but definitely doable. Anything else you want to do?"

"I want to go visit an art store," she says. He nods again before he takes another sip of his coffee.

"You went to an art school, right?" he asks. She nods her head, before sipping her bitter coffee again. He glares at her coffee mug, and she raises an eyebrow at him. "I don't understand how you can drink that. It's so bitter!" He takes another sip of his creamer as if to make a point of what she is saying. In return, she takes a long sip of hers and then sighs as if to say it's delicious.

"What's the point in having coffee if it's more creamer than coffee?" she counters. He shrugs his shoulders as if she's got him, and she smiles before taking another sip of her coffee.

"Give me an hour and we can be on our way."

-[Chained]-

They stopped to get breakfast on their way to Kaede's grave. To rub in their earlier conversation, she got another black coffee. To rub in his point, he got root beer which she gagged at. She liked orange soda, but root beer? Gross! She also got two plain biscuits, and he got a cinnamon roll. She had quickly learned that her angel had a sweet tooth, which she found kind of funny.

When they arrived at the cemetery, and Sesshomaru killed the ignition, the joking air in the car quickly dissipated. Sesshomaru understood, he didn't push her suddenly sullen air.

She crawls out of the car, yanking on her denim sleeves just as a way to ease her nervousness. She knows Kaede is dead, she's accepted it, but this seems to much. She feels like turning and running with her tail between her legs. She doesn't want to see the grave that tells her that Kaede is dead, that she wasn't there for her grandmama's burial. She stops in her tracks, ready to turn and run.

But then her angel's hand rests on her back, reassuring her that she can do this. And so she lets him guide her to the stone head the has Kaede's name engraved into it. The moment she stands before the grave, she finds herself sobbing into her angel for the second time in a row. He holds her, strokes her hair as she sobs. He says nothing as he lets her cry. He just lets her cry, because she knows she needs to cry. And she cries, because she needs to cry.

-[Chained]-

When Rin crawls back into Sesshomaru's car, she immediately curls up in the passenger seat and rests her head on her knees. He steps in but doesn't put the key into the ignition to start the car up, just watches her. Finally, she raises her head and looks over at him, face pale with blotches of red. She must look so unattractive, she muses mordantly. He reaches over and places a black strand of hair behind her ear, and she smiles demurely at him.

"What do you want to do now?" he asks. "Art shop?"

She shakes her head. Not yet. She still wants to go to the art shop, but she doesn't want to show up looking like the living dead. She wants to go to a movie. Not a Disney movie, just a movie. "Movie," she whispers. He nods his head, grabs his phone, types in a few things and hands it to her. She takes it and glares at the bright screen. She picks out a movie, and hands it back to him. He nods his head, starts the ignition, and they start driving towards the theater.

They get popcorn at the movie. A few people look at her oddly, but she doesn't pay them any attention. Her angel rests his hand on her shoulder, glaring at all the people who glance at her oddly. She enjoys the movie. She can tell Sesshomaru is bored by it, so she doesn't talk about it with him when they get into the car, but she smiles as Sesshomaru drives her somewhere.

When they get out, she realizes it's a phone shop. She glances at him in curiosity, but follows him in because he is her angel. He buys her a phone. When they go to check it out, she overhears people talking about her negatively. She drops her gaze, ready for them to confront her when Sesshomaru gives the man behind the counter her name.

But he gives them the name Tsukimori Rin.

When they get back in the car, she looks at him oddly. "I heard them too," he comments, staring at her. "Tsukimori is my surname. It's better than people hearing Matsumoto Rin and getting angry with you."

She nods her head. He takes her to the art shop next. She smiles as she looks around all the aisles, grabs the paints and the easel. Sesshomaru drives the cart, and he looks at her surprised as she grabs everything she will need.

"Will I get to see some of your work?" he asks when she throws the paintbrushes into the cart. She smiles back at him and nods, and leads him to the canvas. She will show her angel some of her work, she will paint him as an angel to.

The day was good, it ended well. Her angel was her angel, and he protected her and held her when she needed him most. So when she sits down that evening to start painting, the angel him comes to her so easily. The paint spreads across the canvas, she smiles all the while.


	5. Family

**Summary: **After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.

**AN: **This came to me so easily for some reason. Wrote this yesterday, but I only update once a day. Thanks for the reviews, don't forget to review this chapter as well.

-[Chained]-

She peeks around the door, brown eyes peering into the darkness. She woke up to the sound of a voice spilling from the living room at two in the morning, and with curiosity in mind, tugged at the purple long sleeves of her pajamas and went to look. The darkness spills through the living room, interrupted with the light from the TV. It's a news channel. Her eyes land on the socked feet resting over the edge of the couch. She is right. Sesshomaru has been sleeping on the couch.

"I don't care who you think you saw me with Sara, we are no longer going out so it doesn't matter," she hears him sigh. "No Sara, I'm not married." She hears him pause and then she seems the TV channel change. "Her name is Matsumoto Rin, you're probably aware of what that means. I couldn't just leave her open to scrutiny." She hears him shift on his makeshift bed. "Sara, she was RAPED, she deserves to be protected. Why am I talking to you anyways?" The feet disappear, and she knows Sesshomaru is standing up. "Goodbye Sara," he says and she hears him sigh again as he hangs up the phone.

"Sara?" she can't help but ask. She assumes Sara is an ex-girlfriend, but she is curious nonetheless since this person makes her tolerant angel intolerant.

He looks at her, shirtless again. She looks down, but she catches the look of his messy white hair. "Semi-stalker ex-girlfriend who still is under the assumption we are still dating. She saw us at the phone store earlier, and overheard me telling them your name is Tsukimori Rin. She thinks I'm cheating on her though we aren't even together anymore," he sighs, and she hears the remote hit the couch. "I'm sorry if I woke you," he says, remembering that it's two in the morning. "Want anything?"

"Coffee?" she asks, watching her toes as Sesshomaru grabs for a shirt and slips it on.

"One bitter black coffee coming up," he says as he heads for the kitchen. She opens the door wider and slips out into the living room and takes a seat on the couch where he has been sleeping. The TV channel is some infomercial, she doesn't really care or knows why he changed it to this. She looks down at the book sitting on the couch. How to Comfort Victims. She snorts and giggles at the title, and glances to where the light from the kitchen pours out into the darkness. "I just want to know if I'm doing things right!" he calls to her from the kitchen, catching onto her amusement.

"You're doing a great job," she yells back. Because he is. She can't imagine him doing a better job at being her angel. He has held her when she needed to cry, bought her clothing, a phone, and even the art supplies that cost him quite a bit out of pocket. He's protected her from those that have wanted to hurt her even. If that is not a great job, then she doesn't know what is.

"Good to know," he comments as he bustles around the kitchen. "Seriously, how can you drink black coffee?" he asks as she hears her mug clink against the counter. She smiles as she sees him sipping water, washing away the taste of the bitter coffee.

"Because it's good!" she calls with a smile on her face, standing from the couch as she goes to grab her coffee. "I don't understand how someone can have such a sweet tooth," she says as he begins pouring the creamer into his coffee. "God, that makes me gag. Seriously, want some coffee with your creamer? Some coffee with your sugar?" she asks as he pours four sugar cubes into the coffee. He smirks at her over the edge of the mug. She sticks her tongue out at him before taking another sip. "How did you get involved with Sara?" she asks in curiosity.

"Back in college, seemed like a good woman. Broke it off with her when father died, but she didn't accept. I still took her out occasionally, but we weren't really together. Moved onto another woman named Kagura, she got crazy jealous. Had to break things off with Kagura it got so bad, she nearly killed Kagura once."

"Damn, talk about psycho," she murmurs, blowing on her coffee before taking another sip. "I never had a boyfriend," she murmurs, feeling saddened when she realizes how sad she sounds. "No one was interested in little old me until..." she shudders, taking another sip of her coffee.

"Can I ask you a question about those days?" he asks, setting his coffee down on the counter. He leans back against the counter as she nods her head. Sure. She kind of feels like talking about those days. "What was it like to be used? Did it hurt?"

"It hurt. They used me like I wasn't even human. I always compared myself, thought of myself as just a fantasy to them. Like I wasn't real, wasn't there," she whispers, blowing on her coffee. "They didn't see me as anything more than what they wanted me to be. They wanted me to be a girl named Sakiyo, or Emiko. It didn't matter, I just wasn't real to them. I was just a fantasy. And it hurt to know that, to know that I wasn't real to those that hurt me."

He nods. Silence falls over them, but it's not a bad silence. She is comfortable in this silence. It is a good silence. They sip their coffee in the silence, she is glad to have her angel there, and he seems to be glad to have her too. They finally bid the silence goodbye when he bids her goodnight, and settles down on the couch and she returns to her bedroom. On her way to her bed, he fingers brush over her painting from earlier, and a small smile slips across her lips. And when she falls asleep, she is still smiling. Her angel is always there for her.

-[Chained]-

When she wakes up at eleven in the morning, Sesshomaru is not there. She knows this because there is a cup of cold, black coffee next to a note that says he got called down to the station. She nods her head, puts the cup of coffee in the microwave to warm it up, and turns on the TV. She takes the coffee out of the microwave and goes up to the bookshelf, letting the coffee sit on the counter.

She was right the few days before, that his bookshelf is mostly compromised of psychology books and text-books. She is curious when she sees the sheer amount of them that he has. She knows he switched to studying law enforcement when his father died, but it seems like he would much prefer to be back in psychology. She picks one out, and begins to read it.

It is interesting, the subject he is so invested in. But what is more interesting to her is the note that slips out from the folds of the book. It is a note, obviously written in the hand of a female. Don't give up on your dreams, it says, signed Izayoi. She doesn't know who Izayoi is, but she assumes she was trying to get him not to give up on psychology when she gave him the book. Perhaps she is his mother. She smiles at the note though, and continues to read the book until Sesshomaru gets home later that evening.

"We brought in three more men," he says as he drops his keys and phone into a dish on the counter. She glances up to him from page two-hundred and sixty-four of the book. He looks at her with curiosity when he realizes she is reading, the cup of black coffee sitting half-drunk on the coffee table.

"Who is Izayoi?" she asks as she holds up the cover for him to read. He nods his heads as he collapses on the couch beside her, resting his head in his hands.

"Izayoi is my step-mother. Was. I cut ties with my family after I got my father's killer," he says taking the book from him and flipping the book to the page where Izayoi's note rests. "She always tried to pretend she was my mother, but she never was. I was such a jerk to her," he muses. "That's in the past though."

She stares at him expectantly, and he shrugs his shoulders. What does he have to say beyond that, is silently conveyed to her. There's nothing he has to say beyond that, that's all there is to the story. She wants to scold him for that though. Family is important, she feels like saying, you should never abandon the family you have. You'll realize only too late that you miss them, and wish you could've been there. But she doesn't, just takes the book from him, sets it down beside her, and curls up next to him. He looks at her with surprise, but wraps his arm around her and just holds her. She appreciates that, and he seems to appreciate the gesture she is making towards him.

"Did you paint anything?" he asks after holding her for a while. She looks up at him and smiles, before stretching out her arms and legs and looking at him expectantly. He follows her into her room, and over to the easel which holds the painting of him as an angel. He gapes at the painting as she smiles at him. "That's amazing," he whispers, hand brushing over it. "You're amazing."

"I'm a bit rusty," she says in modesty, blushing red as she looks at her socks. She can feel his heavy gaze on her, can hear the words he isn't saying. Your not rusty, and if you are, then I can't wait to see your work when your not rusty. She looks back up at him and smiles brightly.

"So it's me?" he asks, sitting down in front of her easel.

"Yeah, it's how I see you. You're my angel, you saved me and have protected me, and helped me."

"Most people would disagree with you," he murmurs as his hands brush over the painting with you. "My mother would say I'm an undeserving asshole. My half-brother would agree, add on that I'm an uncaring bastard. Izayoi would say I'm rough around the edges. My father would've said that I'm a cold man who doesn't deserve the lot life has given me."

"That's not how you've treated me," she says with a smile, her hand resting on his shoulder. "You've cared, seen me as a person when the rest of the world couldn't give less of a damn about me. You trust me, protect me, help me, let me cry on you, and joke about coffee with me. A man who does that, is none of the things he claims his family says about him."

"And you are a person," he whispers, turning around to look up at her, look her directly in the eyes, his golden gaze baring into her. "You're more than a fantasy, you're real, you're perfect," he whispers, resting his head against her stomach. "You deserve so much more than the pain you've suffered. I will do everything in my power to protect you, and get the men who hurt you."

She smiles, warm and content as he rests against her. She is happy with his vow, and he is content knowing that she is happy with what she has said. Her angel is her angel, and his angel is his angel.

-[Chained]-

Their moment is broken, interrupted when a harsh knock bangs on his door. He groans as he pulls himself from her, and she sighs as she follows him back into the living room. She curls up on the couch, coddling the book from Izayoi in her arms as he goes to answer the door. He peers at the peephole, and she hears him sigh, so she turns her head to peek and see what has her angel down.

"Sara, I will get a restraining order against you," he greets as he opens the door. In front of him is a woman dressed in a fancy business suit, a black skirt the reaches her knees, a button-up pink top, and a black blazer over it. She rolls her eyes and pushes past him into his apartment, twirling as she takes in the sights and smells. Then her eyes land on Rin.

"So this is the tramp?" she asks, approaching Rin. Rin cringes away from the woman who smells like cinnamon, gulping at the hard glare that Sara gives her. "What man would ever want you or pay for you? And seriously, what are you wearing? You look like a little girl."

"That is enough!" shouts Sesshomaru, grabbing onto Sara and spinning her around to face him. She stands stiff in his arms, a cruel smirk on her lips.

"Did I push some buttons?" she asks demurely, though it fake for sure. Rin does not like this woman. She is obviously pushy, and so very fake. In fact, she hates this woman and has since the first word escaped her mouth. "Look darling, it doesn't matter. The whole world sees her as a tramp, you can't protect her from that. Not when the whole world is against her."

"Why are you here?" he grits out.

"I got a letter from Izayoi," she says with her cruel smile. "She wants to know how you are, what's going on with you. You haven't spoken to her in so long! Inuyasha has gotten married evidently to some woman named Kagome. Him and Kikyo didn't last very long from what I gathered. Izayoi approves of Kagome much more than she did Kikyo. She's very concerned about you though, you really should write her back. You should also let her know we're not together anymore as you claim."

"Where is the letter?" he asks the clenched teeth. She chuckles at him, and hands him the letter. He rips it from her hands and stalks over to the counter to set it down with the rest of the mail. While he is doing that, Sara turns back to Rin.

"Still, I don't see why anyone would pay to have sex with you, consensual or not. You're just kind of..." she pauses for the word, "frumpy. Still, if Sesshomaru believes you, I'll believe you. You're such a sad thing," she says with a pouty smile and pats her on the head. Rin shrinks away. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Asano Sara, ex-girlfriend of tall, dark, and handsome over there, or at least according to him. You're Matsumoto Rin, no?"

"I am..." she murmurs.

"Well, I should be on my way. You really should talk to Izayoi," she advises Sesshomaru. "She is worried about you, you know? I do kind of feel sorry for her, she tries to contact her estranged step-son but he doesn't care enough about her to contact her, just like my boyfriend."

"I'm not your boyfriend," he grinds out. She laughs.

"Whatever, talk to you later Sesshomaru, and I hope to talk to you some more Ms. Rin." She starts towards the door. "I really do feel for you Ms. Rin, it's such a shame one so young as you has had to go through as much as you have."

With that, Asano Sara leaves. Sesshomaru slams the door behind her, turning to look at Rin with a disgusted grimace marring his face.

"Pyscho," Rin murmurs, and Sesshomaru's laugh. Not the bitter chortle that Sara had laughed, but the hearty laugh of a man truly amused by a humorous statement.

"Definitely."

"Did you live with Sara at one point?" she asks as he grabs the letter off the counter and takes it to sit down next to her on the couch. She looks over his shoulder, and reads it with him. It is basically exactly what Sara had told him that it was.

"I did," he says with a sigh when he is done reading the letter. "Back during college. Last time I talked to Izayoi was back then. I'm surprised she hasn't given up on me after this long."

She nods and grabs the book and hands it to him. He raises his eyebrow but takes the book from her. She stands up and goes to grab something, and when she returns, she hands him a pen. He sighs, as he takes the pen from her and places the letter on the book. She goes to grab another thing, and returns with a sheet of lined paper.

"You're going to talk to her, and be a good step-son!" she exclaims, plopping down on the couch next to him. "Go on, write something down in return, tell her about your life.

"Why?" he asks, as he pushes the paper, book, and pen to the side and looking at her expectantly. "Why is this so important to you Rin?"

"Because I know how important family is," she murmurs. She reaches over him and grabs the book, paper and pen. "What do you want to say?" she asks him, looking at him expectantly. "You don't even have to write it down, I will. Just tell me what you want me to tell her." He looks at her like she is crazy, but she doesn't care, she is determined to do this.

So he tells her what to say, and she writes down what he has to say to Izayoi. He doesn't know why he is letting her do this, but she does, she writes it down and he tells her what to write. The next day, he mails it out because he... well, he doesn't know why, but he does.


	6. Win

**Summary: **After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.

**AN: **I'm actually surprised I got this chapter done. I ended up in the hospital yesterday because of some bad reaction I had to a medicine. Damn, I'm sore today. At least I got this done though. Thank you for reviewing, and please don't forget to review this chapter too.

-[Chained]-

"Hello, this is Rin," she greets as she answers the phone. She had no idea who was calling, she had no one who would call her, did she? Sara maybe? But why would Sara wish to speak with her? It would've said if it was Sesshomaru. Kaede from beyond the grave? That was only included in it for the humor.

"Hello, this is Watanabe Eri, is this Matsumoto Rin?" says the female voice on the other end of the line. Watanabe Eri, she has never met a person with that name. She has met an Eri before, her name had been Honda Eri though. She had been a relatively tall girl with short black hair, and a tongue that was always lolling for gossip.

"Yes this is Matsumoto Rin," she replies. "What can I help you with Ms. Watanabe?" What else was there to ask? At three in the afternoon, sitting down at the police station, she didn't know what else to ask. She didn't know who this Ms. Watanabe Eri was, hell, she barely knew anybody. Besides Sesshomaru and the nice lady who'd led her to one of the empty interrogation room so she could sit and read while Sesshomaru worked, she didn't know anyone.

"I would like to interview you for an article in Suns Time regarding the trafficking ring. What time might you be free to give me the interview, if you are willing that is?" says Ms. Watanabe. Rin sets down the psychology book she had nabbed from Sesshomaru's bookshelf earlier that day, and shifts in her chair to get more comfortable.

"I'm free now if that would be alright," she replies. She knows why she is giving this interview. In a world where she doesn't know much, she at least knows this one. She wants her voice heard simply and this Suns Time magazine is giving her a platform for people to hear her through. She knows this is just opening herself up to hounding from the press, but she doesn't mind honestly.

"That's wonderful," exclaims Ms. Watanabe on the other end of the line. Rin can hear her shuffling a grabbing for sheets of paper and a pen through the line. "Alright, the first question I have for you is: Can you detail to us the means in which you were kidnapped?" Rin thinks it's an odd question, but thinks for a moment before replying.

"I was taken off the street while walking home from my college. They grabbed me, pulled me into a van, blind-folded me, and the next thing I knew, I was inside the ring," she replies, examining her fingernails as she does so. She sees Sesshomaru peering in at her through a window in the door and beckons to him.

"Can you detail to us how you were rescued?" Ms. Watanabe asks as Sesshomaru comes into the room and takes a seat across from her. She smiles at him, a grabs for a piece of paper and a pencil to explain herself while she gropes for an answer. "Ms. Matsumoto?"

"Ah, sorry," she says, sliding the paper across to Sesshomaru. "All I know is that I was getting bathed when I was pulled out of the water by one of the police officers. I was wrapped in a blanket and driven to a hospital afterwards. From what I've gathered though, they had a man on the inside for a little while after getting an anonymous tip regarding the location of the ring. I actually have a cop near me if you want more detail," she offers. She hears Ms. Watanabe on the other end gulp, and realizes that her offer must have come off as a threat.

"That's alright. If you have time for one more question, can you tell us a little bit about yourself prior to the kidnapping? We wish to humanize you in our reader's eyes since so many people seemed to have turned against you," says Ms. Watanabe. Rin smiles at the gesture, appreciating it immensely because it is an acknowledgement that she isn't the bad guy despite what they all want to say she is.

"I was a student at a local art college. I was never really noticed by boys, and was a bit of loner. I didn't really have much in the way of friends. I didn't need them though. I had my grandmother who has sadly passed away during my imprisonment, and my cat Sugar who I have no idea what happened to. My parents died when I was younger, getting caught in the crossfire of some gang shooting. I loved painting too. Everyone always said that the day there wasn't paint on my fingers, was the day pigs flied," she says with a smile on her lips. Those days she remembers fondly, returning home from the art college to have Sugar rub up against her legs and her grandmama greet her with a smile before returning to making dinner. Those were the good days, not that her days with Sesshomaru were any bad. They were good too.

"Well thank you Ms. Matsumoto, that should be all we need from you. Have a good day," says Ms. Watanabe, bidding Rin farewell. Rin bid her farewell to, and hung up, looking across the table at Sesshomaru who looked at her expectantly. She rose one eye brow at him, as if asking him, what?

"You had a cat named Sugar?" he asks. She smiles at him as if she is guilty, though guilty of what she doesn't know. Have a cat named Sugar? Not that that's a crime... "You don't even like sugar," he mutters.

"I do to," she murmurs. "I like red bean paste!" she points out. She does, it's a delicious substance, so good, so delicious. She knows that red bean ice cream is mostly ordered by elders, but she always gets it when she gets a chance, and she always buys rice cakes full of the stuff. It's not that she doesn't like sweetness or sugar, it's just that she doesn't have the giant sweet-tooth that her angel does.

"Whatever," he mutters. She knows she's won this argument, that that is his sign of defeat. So she smirks at him and returns to reading the psychology book she borrowed from him. He sits with her for some while until another officer pokes his head in and calls him away.

-[Chained]-

"One red bean ice cream, and one vanilla-chocolate combo ice cream coming up," says the lady behind the counter with a bright smile. Rin smiles back at her, tapping her fingers against the brightly colored surface of the counter, while Sesshomaru beside her fishes out his debit card. She is happy, content with where they are, what they are doing. They are getting ice cream, if that is not obvious.

"Red bean ice cream is for grandmas," he whispers in her ear teasingly. She turns to face him and sticks out her tongue. She doesn't care what he thinks of her choice. She likes it so she will eat it. It's not like he is going to have eat any of it anyways. And that's another thing! What kind of self-respecting man orders an ice cream that is a mixture of chocolate and vanilla. That just screams child to her.

"Yeah?" she challenges. "What grown-up gets a mixed ice cream?" she retorts. He glares at her out of the corner of his eyes, but say nothing more. What is that she hears? Did she just when another argument? She thinks she just did. Well, ain't that dandy?

She holds both of their ice creams while Sesshomaru pays, licking at hers because it tastes so good. They take them to one of the brightly colored tables and sit down to eat their yummy frozen treats. She is happy with this, this is fun. Much better than what she had been doing the rest of the day which had been on par with studying. Blech. Sure, psychology was interesting but it was still psychology.

"Tell me about your childhood," she orders before licking her ice cream. She glances up at Sesshomaru who is staring at her, lips drawn into a tight, thin line. She gives him a sheepish grin, and pulls the ice cream up to cover her face. Well, kind of. You can probably figure it didn't hide her very well.

"My father favored my younger half-sibling, my mother was an alcoholic, my step-mom was overbearing, and my younger half-sibling was an annoying brat," he says. That was what Rin had been expecting. She had expected a happier story, maybe one of when he caught a butterfly in the park. Evidently he didn't comprehend her question.

"Tell me a STORY from your childhood!" she exclaims, glaring at him like he is the silliest being in the world. He raises one eyebrow at her before taking a bite of his ice cream.

"What is there to tell? I was an unwanted child in one home, and in a broken home the next. If you're looking for I-skinned-and-scraped-my-knee stories, you're not going to find them. I didn't have much of a childhood. Too far buried in books and studying in hopes of one day pleasing my father that I simply didn't have time to be a kid." Her lower lip is quivering by the time he is done talking, watching him with sadness. He narrows his eyes at her, and she covers her mouth with her hand.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers. Then she gets a hold of herself. "How about I tell you a story my grandmama always loved to tell me?" He nods his head.

"Many years ago there was a little farm in the plains of Kanto. On that farm lived an old farmer and his wife. They had had four children, and their youngest was just of marrying age. A lord came seeking her hand for she was the most beautiful woman in all of Japan. The thing was, the second youngest child, another daughter, who was unwed at this point, was quite displeased. She wanted to marry the lord. So she crafted from her ill-bred hatred a potion to make the youngest daughter ugly. The daughter became grotesque, with a large, pimply nose and misshapen eyes. The lord no longer seeked her hand. The lord set eyes on the second youngest daughter then, and they were wed. It took some years, but finally the youngest daughter married too, to a kind farm boy who took care of her and loved her. It was happily ever after for them. For the second youngest though, things were not so pleasant. She had miscarried nine children, and her husband had taken so many consorts, he had completely forgotten about her. She died one fateful eve, hit by a horse on her way to the local shrine to pray for better luck." She finishes the story with a lick of her ice cream.

"So the moral of the story is be kind and gracious, and good things will come to you. Be hateful and bitter, and misfortune shall befall you," he says. "There are some people in this world that should remember that," he mutters. She knows exactly what he means. The people who will say she only exists for a political reason, the people who say she is lying when she is not. He is right though. She smiles at him and he takes a bite of his ice cream.

-[Chained]-

"Can we stop at the bookstore?" she asks while they are driving back to the apartment. His eyes flick from the road to her, one of his hands dropping into his lap. He nods minutely, turns on the turn signal, and switches lanes. She smiles, leaning forward in her seat as she takes in the sights outside the window, the store fronts and the people.

He kills the ignition when they come to a stop on the side of the road. She smiles as she pushes open the door, feet clad in white and purple tennis shoes hitting the pavement. She slams the door behind and hops onto the sidewalk while Sesshomaru is barely out of the car.

The bookstore is called Read 'Em and Sell 'Em. It's a used bookstore. The orange brick building stands between two much taller apartment buildings. She rushes towards the glass double doors, and pulls them open with a heavy umph. She is happy when she steps inside, the musty smell of books greeting her senses. Stacks of books pile from floor to ceiling, and shelving litters the small floor. A cat rubs against her legs, and she bends down to pet the little black cat as Sesshomaru steps in behind her.

She waves at the person behind the counter as she begins to browse the shelves. Quickly books are piling into her arms as Sesshomaru follows behind her. She seems him occasionally pull out a book or two to read the back before putting it back. So, knowing what he wants, she leads him to the non-fiction section across from the erotica. She sees him light up when he sees the books he so craves.

When they are at check-out, even though all the books are marked half-off the publisher's price, they still ring in over a hundred dollars. She has over thirty books, he has five psychology books. They walk back to the car with four weighted plastic bags, and she walks to the car with a smile on her face.

-[Chained]-

"Can we get a cat?" she asks as Sesshomaru shoves the lock into the door. He gives her an incredulous look before he pushes the wooden door open. She follows him in and shuts the door behind her. What? Cats are fun. They're not as pesky and dependent as dogs, and they totally can save little boys from big dogs. Again, what? YouTube existed back before she was kidnapped.

"No, we can't," he says as he stand by the counter, flipping through the mail. She drops the bags of books by the wall. She sticks out her tongue at him, and he reaches up to pinch it in his fingers. She quickly escapes to the couch and curls up, hugging a pillow against her chest. She watches him as he flips through the mail. "Something for you," he says, tossing a letter to her before tossing down his own mail on the counter.

She grabs the letter and runs her fingers over it. She is beyond surprised. A letter for her? Who would be writing her a letter? Who got her address, anyway? She reads the return address. Oda Kohaku. She doesn't remember an Oda Kohaku. Did she ever know an Oda Kohaku? She tears open the envelope, curiosity getting the better of her as she pulls at the letter and unfolds it.

"Hello Rin," she begins reading. "I'm certain you don't recognize me, we didn't really talk back then. I went to college with you though. We were studying different majors, pottery for me, painting for you, but I remember talking to you occasionally. You were really nice. I had a bit of a crush on you admittedly. When I heard that you had been found, I was rushing to find your address because I wanted to talk to you again. Do you want to meet for coffee? Here is my number. Sincerely, Oda Kohaku." She smiles when she is finished reading the letter. How sweet!

"Will you meet him?" asks Sesshomaru from beside her. Instantly her eyes snap to him, not having realized that he had sat down next to her. He was looking at her expectantly, his hands in his hair as he was pulling it back into a ponytail. Her smile brightened when she saw him.

"Yeah, I think I will," she replies. She is recalling Kohaku now. He was a year older than her. She had had one class with him, and for a project, they had partnered together. He had been a very nice boy. She was excited now that she held his letter in her hands, she was definitely going to talk to him. "I remember him being very kind. I hope my memory isn't clouded by nostalgia, but I think I'll go." Sesshomaru nods his head, reaching towards the coffee table for one of his psychology books. She reads the letter again.

-[Chained]-

Rin sneaks up behind Sesshomaru as he sits in the darkness of the living room, on his laptop. She had awoken to the sound of thunder outside her window, and light spilling from underneath the door. She had tugged at her sleeves and peeked out from behind her door.

"Online college?" she asks.

"I'm considering going back to college to get a psychology degree and change my profession," he says, glancing up at her. "I don't know, it's a lot of effort and money," he murmurs as he looks back at the computer. She looks at the screen again, resting her chin on his head.

"I think you should," she says. She does, she can tell how much he loves psychology, how much he craves to have it. Still, he is right when he points out it's an expensive and tiring ordeal. She remembers how she was working two jobs just to pay her way through college. That was five years ago. She can't imagine how much it will be now if she re-enrolls. It is tiring too. She spent many nights not sleeping as she worked on projects for her college.

"I'm considering it," he replies. "Want to watch a movie," he asks, glancing back at her again. She smiles and nods her head. She moves to pull the string to turn on the lamp as he shuts the lid of his laptop. She heads over to the TV and DVD player as he heads to the kitchen for what she assumes to be popcorn and refreshments. She finds the movie she wants to watch, pops it in, and sits on the couch as the sound of popping kernels drifts to her from the kitchen.

He returns with the bowl of popcorn, a coke and a water. The water is for her. She takes a sip of it and presses the play button on the little grey remote. Their legs press together as they watch the Shakespeare adaptation. Rin loves Shakespeare actually, and it's a good movie they are watching. Some point during the movie, she rests her head against his shoulder and he rests an arm around her. She quickly finds herself nodding off, and when she awakes in the morning, she is neatly tucked into her bed and Sesshomaru is sleeping on the couch.


	7. Friends

**Summary: **After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.

**AN: **I again have to thank Veda Leonhart for the review she left me. A review like that is every author's dream. Thank you so much, and this chapter is dedicated to you.

-[Chained]-

She sits down at the coffee shop table, holding onto her purse tightly. She has never been one for purses, always stuffed what she needed in her pockets, but she wanted to look nice and professional for some reason. She is biting her lip, glancing around the small coffee shop. She is waiting for Oda Kohaku. She hopes he's as nice as she remembers him being, it would be quite a shame if he wasn't.

"Hello, Rin," says a boyish voice. The man who takes the seat across from her is anything but a boy. His face hair is scraggly, like he hasn't shaved in months. His brown hair is messy and long, pulled back into a high ponytail. He wears an army green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and khaki pants. "It's me, Kohaku." She smiles at him, and hangs her purse up on the bars of the seat.

"Hello," she murmurs, brushing one her black locks behind her ear. She folds her hand on the table in front of her. "How are you?" she asks, a smile tugging at her lips.

"I'm good. I just got back like a week and half ago from Papa New Guinea. I was studying tribal art over there. So I look like a mess," he says, his arms gesturing to his messy appearance. She chuckles at him.

"That's okay, I'm a bit of a mess too," she says says, gesturing to her blue turtle neck and lavender skirt that reaches her ankles. "Sounds like you were having fun. Crafted anymore pottery lately?"

"Yes," he replies, stirring the coffee he had ordered. Caramel coffee, the golden hues stood out to her in the clear plastic cup. "I've actually got a pretty nice set-up in a gallery just a couple blocks from here. You should check it out some time, it's got a lot of good new artists. You should probably even try to get some of your work in there. It's called Chikafuji's Home of Art."

She lifts up her arms to rest her chin on her folded arms, nodding her head. Around her are the sounds of chattering couples, blissfully unaware of the world around him. Scents also drift to her, the scent of caramel, chocolate, coffee grinds, and freshly baked pastries. She brakes off a piece of her own scone and shoves it in her mouth.

"So what's been going on with you?" Kohaku asks her, taking a sip of his coffee. "I've heard about all the bad stuff people are saying about you, and I'm really sorry about that. People like that just suck. Seriously, the need to remember that if they don't have anything nice to say, they might as well not say anything at all."

"I've got it good now. A home, a steady supply of cash in the form of my roommate, a good roommate, art supplies, books." She pauses and takes a sip of her hot chocolate. "Yeah, those people suck."

"Did you ever meet my sister Sango?" Kohaku asks, the straw touching his lips. She shakes her head, taking another bite of her scone. "Well, while I was gone I missed her wedding. I feel really bad about it. I wanted to be there, but this was a once and a life-time opportunity."

She bites off another piece of her scone and hums. "Have you bought her a gift?" she asks. That's what you do when you miss someone's wedding, right? You buy them a gift to make it up to them. Or is that just some old fashioned idea from five years ago?

"Not yet," he says with a sigh before taking a sip of his caramel coffee. "I was going to get one after I met you. I was thinking of buying her a rice cooker because she sucks at making rice."

Rin nods her head. "Sounds like a good idea." She sips her hot chocolate, and finishes off her scone. She glances towards the counter, debating whether or not to get another one. She decides against and looks to Kohaku who is finishing off his caramel coffee. She finishes off her hot chocolate too.

"We should keep in contact," he says, fingers tightly gripping the cup. "I've gotta get that gift though. I have a meeting with a possible commissioner at two." He glances at his watch, and then back up to her. "It's twelve-thirty, I've gotta go. Sorry we couldn't chat for longer. Call me sometime, we'll get dinner, alright?" She nods her head and watches him leave.

Well that wasn't what she expected.

She takes her napkins and cup to a trash bin after a moment, and then she heads to the counter. She has decided against her earlier decision. She buys a scone for three-hundred yen, and also gets a bottle of water. She ponders what she will do with herself as she eats her scone, walking down the side-walk.

She had walked from Sesshomaru's apartment to the coffee shop. She could go back, but that would be boring. Sesshomaru is at work, busy being a police officer and all. She's bored with reading, she's spent the past few days doing nothing but that. She could go to the book store, it's only a couple blocks down, but she only left the house with thirty-thousand yen and all she has now is eighteen-thousand. She glances around at the shops. There is a puzzle shop. She likes puzzles, but she chooses not to go there. There is a one-hundred yen store, but she knows that she would just be walking into a store of worthless junk. Then her eyes land on the dress store.

She doesn't consider at first going in there. She doesn't have nearly enough money to buy even a corsage. But as she's about to pass by it, she thinks she sees a man she recognizes on the street walking towards her, so she ducks into the store.

The dresses are gorgeous. All different colors, materials and cuts. There are blue ones, red ones, green ones, pink ones, white ones. Her eyes are drawn to a beautiful orange one that reaches the floor. She admires it, takes it and holds up in front of her in front of a mirror. It sparkles. She is gaping at it. Perhaps she'll drag Sesshomaru down here and make him buy it for her. Where she would wear it, she doesn't know.

"May I help you?" asks a kind voice. Rin turns to look towards the woman who asked her the question. She is a woman in her thirties, perhaps early forties, at least from what she can tell from the woman's looks. She is smiling, hands folded in front of her stomach.

"No, I was just looking," Rin says as she turns back to look at herself in the mirror again. She sees out of the corner of the mirror the black-haired woman approaching her.

She holds onto the dress for Rin, allowing Rin to let her arms drop to her side. She smiles, patting the dress down. The woman behind her smiles as well. "You look gorgeous," says the woman. "The color makes you glow, and the style makes you look so elegant. Why don't you go try it on?"

Rin blushes a bright red, turning her head to the side and looking down at the ground. "I don't have enough money to buy it," she says sheepishly. She expects the woman to kick her out of the store, knowing that she won't buy anything. But the smiles remains on the woman's face.

"I can tell," she says, pushing a strand of black hair behind her ear. "I'm not blind, I know the difference between someone who is running from someone and someone who wants to buy a dress. May I ask who you are running from?"

"I thought it was someone I recognized," she murmurs. The woman takes the dress and folds it over her arm. Rin turns to face the woman, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Someone bad that I recognized. Someone that hurt me." She pauses, and meets the gaze of the black-haired woman. "I'm sorry for taking up your time. I can leave now if you want me to."

"That's alright, you can stay," she says, taking the dress back to the rack. "I like you. My name is Izayoi, what is yours?" she asks, turning a bright smile to her. At first Rin thinks nothing of it, but then she remembers something. She rushes to Izayoi's side, hands clasped in front of him.

"Do you have a step-son named Sesshomaru?" she asks. She realizes that she is probably stupid for asking the question. There are probably a thousand Izayois in the Tokyo area, meeting one does not mean meeting the one who happens to be the step-mother of the man you're living with. Still, she couldn't help herself when she asked.

Izayoi looks at her in surprise, mouth slightly parted. "How did you know that?" she asks in shock, hand on her chest. Rin's eyes widen as her grin grows. A one in a thousand chance actually turns out good. Wow. That doesn't happen every day, now does it?

"Um, he saved me a little over a week ago. I'm living with him now. I wrote the letter to you, he told me what to write but I was the one who wrote it," says Rin. The shocked expression on Izayoi's face spreads into one of delight. "It's really great to meet you," Rin murmurs.

"I'm glad to meet you to Rin," she says, shaking her hand. She moves away from the rack the orange dress rests on, and towards one with a white dress. "May I ask how he saved you?" she asks. "And what's he like? Is he nicer than he was before? Does he still like psychology? Does he still play chess? Oh! Does he still take more creamer with his coffee than his actual coffee?"

Rin smiles at the woman. "He saved me from the human trafficking ring. I'm Matsumoto Rin. He's really nice to me, let's me live with him and buys me lots of stuff." Rin laughs. "He still loves psychology, he's considering going back to college for a degree. I don't know if her plays chess, but I do know he still takes his overly-sweetened coffee."

She smiles, brushing her hand over a white dress. "Go try this one," she says, thrusting it into the hands of Rin and steering her towards the dressing room. As Rin takes it in a begins to try it one, Izayoi shouts through the door. "Good to know that he has softened up. He was a real jerk back when he still talked to me. Hated everything and everyone. He was so bitter and angry at the world. I tried to get him into counseling, but he wouldn't budge. He'd much rather be the counselor than the patient."

Rin steps out of the dressing room, and Izayoi stops talking and gapes at her. She is speechless for a moment, staring in awe at the girl rubbing her arms as if she is uncomfortable in her own skin. She steers Rin to stand in front of one of the mirrors, and Rin gapes too.

It is a wedding dress. It is the only way it can be described. A wedding dress. She doesn't know why, she just knows that Izayoi put her in a wedding gown. It's a sweetheart neckline, beaded and adorned beautifully. The silk is folded and form-fitting on Rin. She feels like crying it makes her so beautiful. Izayoi wraps her arms around her shoulders and rests her chins on one of Rin's shoulders.

"This will be your wedding dress," she says with a smile on her lips. Rin nods, but then a though hits her. It's a simple thought, and obvious one, one that likely doesn't even need to be said. But she says it anyways.

"I'm not getting married though..." Izayoi laughs at the comment though, like is the most ridiculous thing in the world. Rin turns to look back at Izayoi, eyes narrowed in confusion. Izayoi only laughs harder.

"You will one day, I can just tell, and even if you don't get married, it fits you perfectly," says Izayoi, patting Rin's hips. "It's on the house, free of charge. Just get me to see Sesshomaru again and the dress is yours."

Rin nods her head in determination.

-[Chained]-

She opens the front door, and peers her head around the corner. Sesshomaru pokes his head out from the kitchen and meets eyes with her. She opens the door wider and slips in, while Sesshomaru pops back into the kitchen. She goes into the kitchen and sets the water bottle down on the counter, going to see what he is doing.

"You weren't supposed to be home yet," he states plainly. She looks at him incredulously and pokes her head over his shoulder. It's a cake. He's icing a cake. She awes at the scene and giggles, poking Sesshomaru on the cheek.

"What's the cake for?" she asks, going to stand beside him. She leans her elbow on the counter, but quickly moves back when she realizes how much flour is there. Man, Sesshomaru made a mess of the kitchen, she realizes as she looks around. Measuring cups, measuring spoons, flour, egg yolks. Note to self, she remarks, don't let Sesshomaru bake.

"Your birthday is tomorrow," he says, laying the icing down next to her. She looks confused for a moment. But then the word registers in her minds, and her smile grows so wide and bright that it is blinding.

"I haven't celebrated my birthday in five years," she wryly comments. She hasn't. She didn't bother. She didn't even know what day her birthday fell on. Just knows tomorrow she will be twenty-five. "That's so nice of you." She plants a kiss on his cheek, and a slight red tinge colors his cheeks. She smiles, laughs, and walks back to her room, leaving Sesshomaru alone to clean up his mess.

-[Chained]-

She peers her head around her door. She has just heard Sesshomaru open the door, and the clack of heels on his wooden floor. It is Sara. Wonderful. The psycho is back. She sighs and slips out into the living room.

"Ah, Rin, smooch, smooch," she says, giving her air kisses. "Look, I don't have long, I just need to know if you've ever met a man named Ganbe Jinsei?" she asks, handing her a picture of the man she is referring to. Rin takes the picture and looks it over. She nods her head. "Good, just what I wanted to hear." She turns to Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru, this man is a rapist. Here is his address and information," she says, handing it over. "He admitted to it. Go grab him, now."

With that Sara left. Sesshomaru made a few calls before leaving himself. Rin was left alone, standing in shock in the middle of the apartment. She goes a grabs one of the books and begins to read.

Sesshomaru returns about three hours later. Rin is making dinner when he returns, spaghetti and meatballs. She smiles at him when he comes into the kitchen, nose in the air. He drops his keys and cell-phone in his dish, and walks over to where she stands over the oven.

"He is arrested, he admitted to it in the interrogation room," says Sesshomaru, taking another whiff of the food. "That smells really good," he says, taking a deep breath. He hums in approval, going to grab the plates out of one of the cupboards. The clank against the counter when he sets them down. Her fingers brush against her hair, and she glances at him. "You took a shower."

"I did," she replies to the non-question. "I met Izayoi today," she says. Sesshomaru freezes where he is, hands on the glasses. He turns to look at her, his golden eyes narrowed into a glare. She sheepishly grins at him in return. "I met her at her dress store nearby the coffee shop I went to."

"And what did she have to say?" he asks. He pulls down the glasses and they harshly hit the counter. She turns back to stirring the pasta, the smile on her face turned upside down. She didn't realize the fact she said she met Izayoi would make him so upset. He seemed so happy when they wrote the letter.

"She wants to talk to you in person," she replies, stirring the pasta slowly. She reaches over and turns off the stove-top. She hears Sesshomaru's fist come down harshly on the counter and she cringes before slowly turning to look at him. His hands are clenched, his teeth gritted, eyes shut tightly. She regrets bringing up Izayoi now that she sees his reaction. "Just forget it," she says, taking the pasta over to the sink to drain it.

"I'm sorry," he says. "Today has been frustrating." She sees him out of the corner of her eyes slowly unfurling his hands, and opening his eyes. His jaw relaxes. "How was Izayoi?" he asks, walking towards her to help her with the pasta. Rin smiles at him brightly and he smiles back.

He helps her serve up the spaghetti, and they sit down to eat it on the couch.

"So what was so frustrating about today?" she asks before shoveling the pasta into her mouth. Oh, it's heaven on her tongue. The pasta sauce is made from Kaede's recipe. Kaede made it so much when she was younger, it's ingrained in to her mind. Sesshomaru hums in appreciation before shoveling it into his mouth again.

"Keizou got out on bail and instantly went on a talk-show. Watched it down at the station, he completely gave the profile of a desperate whore rather than who you actually are," he says around a mouthful of food. He places his hand over his mouth as chews. "One of the police officers agreed with him. I punched him square in the jaw. That's why I came home to this beautiful pasta."

She stares at him, mouth agape, showing the unchewed food in her hanging jaw. "You did what?!" He did not just tell her he punched someone for her. She is flattered but still... that is too much. He could have lost his job for that.

"One-week paid suspension," he says before shoveling more food into his mouth. "Close your mouth or you'll catch bugs," he mutters. The fork clinks against his plate as he slides the plate onto the coffee table. Rin finishes eating quickly after him.

They start up a movie, and everything is good.


	8. Calm

**Summary: **After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.

**AN: **How are you guys? Tell me what you think of this story in a review.

-[Chained]-

When she awakes the next morning, it is like a child waking up on Christmas morning. She is hyper-excited, bouncing around her room as she pulls on a long-sleeved white shirt, an orange fleece jacket, and boot-cut jeans. She primps in front of the mirror, even puts on a little make-up she bought when she bought all of her clothing.

She peeks around the door, and finds that Sesshomaru is still sleeping on the couch. She understands, it is six-thirty in the morning when she wakes up. She grabs one of the notepads out of the living room and sneaks it inside her room. She sits down at her easel, puts a new piece of canvas on her easel, and places the pad nearby. As she paints, she leans over every once in a while, holding the paintbrush between her teeth as she writes down the things she wants to do that day.

She wants to eat the cake Sesshomaru baked her the day before. She wants to go to the local park. She wants to go down to Izayoi's shop. She wants to head to the bookstore. She wants to eat sushi at a sushi bar. She wants an alcoholic drink. She missed getting to drink an alcoholic beverage on her twentieth birthday.

Sesshomaru knocks on her door about eight-thirty, a rough out-line painted onto her canvas. She turns her head to the door as Sesshomaru pokes his head in. She smiles at him, holds the brush in her teeth, and holds up the notepad to him. He rolls his eyes, jerks his thumb to say get out here, and closes the door behind him. She cleans off her brush, and heads out into the living room.

Sesshomaru is bustling around the kitchen when she appears. With a smile, she takes a seat on the couch and turns on the TV to the local news station. It is talking about someone who got shot. She is curious when she hears that. Are guns still illegal in Japan? Or have they become more like the States. She doesn't dwell on it long though, and glances towards the hallway as she hears the tell-tale trampling of feet.

Sesshomaru is carrying the cake he made her. Her smile grows as she lays down the white beauty of a thing that made the kitchen a mess the previous day. He sets it in front of her, and lights the twenty-five candles. That's a lot of candles, she muses. She attempts to blow them out, but they just won't go out! It does not take her long to realize what is going on, and slyly grins at Sesshomaru who takes them out and puts them out. He begins cutting into it, giving her a small corner piece, and giving him a large piece at least three times the size of hers.

"God, you have a sweet tooth," she says before forking a piece of the cake into her mouth. It's good. She is surprised. With as messy as the kitchen was, she had thought that it would be a gigantic failure. "Good cake," she says while nodding her head. "Worth the trouble of cleaning up, no?"

"I went out after you went to bed and bought a cake mix," he says before shoveling a piece into his pie-hole. She rolls her eyes at him before taking another bite. Maybe not as much effort went into making it good as she was first led to believe, but it was still good. "Tried a bite of the first one," he says after swallowing his bite. "Yuck," he says as he sticks out his tongue and takes a drink of his coffee.

"Good idea to make this cake then," she says as she takes another bite. She is half-way done with her cake, though so is Sesshomaru even though the his slice of the cake was so much larger. She gapes at how much he has eaten. "Black hole much?" He humphs and she chuckles. At least this meal of unhealthy cake tastes good.

"So I want to go to a park, Izayoi's shop, the bookstore, and sushi for dinner. I want sake tonight too," she says, placing her plate down on the table. Sesshomaru delves in for another large piece, and she says, rubbing her hands together. "That sound good with you?" she asks.

"Sounds fine," he says around a mouthful of cake. She rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her water before turning to look at the TV and sticking her tongue out in disgust. It is that talk show she watched the other day, the one that said she was only claiming to be raped because of political reasons. She makes a grab for the remote, ready to change the channel, until they hold up a copy of a Suns Time magazine with a picture of a chain on the cover. Curiosity clouding over her, she watches.

"About a week ago, we discussed the human trafficking ring that has been in the public eye so much as of lately. We voted nay on it, with the consensus that it was nothing but a political move on the part of the police and victims. However, today Suns Time magazine came out with an article on it, with an interview from the only known victim Matsumoto Rin. We thought we would re-visit the subject as see if we still uphold our vote."

Great, she thinks while rolling her eyes. She leans back into the couch though, crossing her arms over her chest as she watches the woman in the brightly lit room with red throw pillows and teal couches. Sesshomaru watches too, munching on his cake as he holds his plastic fork.

"I still see this as a political matter," says the first woman. "No matter what they say, I can't see this as anything more than a political matter. In this article, it does seem as if they are trying to humanize Ms. Matsumoto, but I can't help but feel as if she is fake. I don't know, but I feel as if Matsumoto Rin was created as a PR move by the police. I know I sound like a crazy radical government conspirator, but that's just my opinion."

Rin is on her feet, staring at the TV, jaw comically dropped. "Bullshit!" she screams, throwing the remote at the TV. It falls short of the TV, thank God, but Rin is still seething. She is just a creation from government PR? They deny her very existence? Even though she gave an INTERVIEW? She feels like going down to the studio and strangle that woman who felt like denying her very existence.

"Indeed," Sesshomaru says in relative calm. "Conspiracy theories are always crazy, and this one is no different. What on earth could give this woman the idea that you are nothing more than a PR move on our part? That is crazy in my eyes. I'm sorry you have to deal with that," he says, sitting in the chair. Rin glances at him, eyes narrowed in a glare.

"You THINK? I can't fucking believe this! This makes me so mad!" She throws herself down onto the couch, buries her face in a pillow, and screams. God, she is so enraged. This makes her sick to her stomach. Someone on live TV just said she didn't exist even though she had zero evidence. This is unbelievable. She can't believe it. She just can't.

She hears the TV turn off, and looks up from the pillow to where Sesshomaru is returning to his seat. He gives her a sympathetic look, and she smiles wryly at him. She is still angry, but at least she has cake to quell her misery.

-[Chained]-

She throws the Frisbee, the pink plastic shines in the sun, and Sesshomaru catches it with practiced ease. He throws it back to her, and she does not catch it with as much grace as he did. She fumbles for it, drops it, and picks it back up. Sesshomaru is smirking at her when she turns back to him. She throws it hard this time, and it hits him in the forehead.

"Oh my god," she breathes as she rushes to him. He is rubbing his forehead, the Frisbee lying to the side forgotten. She pulls his fingers away, and gasps when she sees the bleeding wound. She scrambles for the band-aids she keeps in the small black purse she is carrying with her, and bandages him up. She is quite glad she brought the band-aids now.

"I think that's enough of the Frisbee," he says, leaning over to pick it back up. She sheepishly grins at him, and nods her head. He is definitely right. If a person starts bleeding, it might be time to quit. Still, she feels so bad. She hit him and made him bleed! She is such a terrible person. "I will live," he says, catching onto her thoughts.

"I know you will live," she says in a tone that says no duh. "I still hurt you! I made you bleed! I feel so bad," she whines. She touches his forehead again, and he fights off her hands again. She sighs, and holds them behind her back.

"Feeling better?" he says as the walk along the cement path. She looks at him questioningly. "Since you hurt me and all. Did you get your anger for those women out?" She sheepishly grins, turning her face away from him. He chuckles beside her, messing up her hair. She sticks her tongue out at him in a childish manner and he rolls his eyes.

"Thanks for bringing me here, even though you got hurt out of it," she says, a slight red tinge to her cheeks. She doesn't know why she wanted to come to the park. She loved the parks when she was younger, loved to run around them and smell the flowers. She likes it, bathing in the sunshine as the happy couples buzz around them, and the children run and scream in joy. It is nice out here, bees buzzing and pollen floating through the air.

"My mother used to tell me a story," he murmurs. "Want to hear it?" She looks at him in shock first, comprehending what he was saying. But then a smile spreads across her face and she nods her head.

"Many years ago, there was a cowardly, mousy girl who wanted for much, but would never step outside in fear. She had a brother who was care-free to the point of recklessness. They were polar opposites. One night, the brother took up a challenge from one of the men at the bar to ride across the rickety bridge on the heaviest horse in the village. He does, and receives a great amount of land from one of the lords who praised him for his bravery, and promoted him to become a general in the army. The mousy girl, jealous of her brothers success, went to the tavern that night seeking a challenge. She received the same challenge as her brother from the very same lord. While crossing the bridge, the horse was scared by a mouse and she was bucked from saddle into the chasm below."

Rin nods her head, letting the story sink in. "The moral of the story, live life to it's fullest and you will be rewarded, live in fear constantly and you will regret it." Sesshomaru nods his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. "That's a good moral. Trying to cheer me up over those women?" she asks with a sly smile. He snorts, but does not reply.

-[Chained]-

"Izayoi!" Rin calls as pushes open the door to Izayoi's dress shop, Sesshomaru following closely behind her. The black-haired, middle aged woman popped out from the back, a large smile spreading across her face when her brown eyes land on her silver-haired, golden eyed step-son.

"Ah, Rin!" she calls, bustling towards them. "I'm so glad to see the both of you," she continues, taking Rin's hands into her own. "Thank you so much Rin for bringing him here." Rin smiles at Izayoi who smiles back at her. Izayoi then turns to look at her step-son. "My, aren't you handsome?" she says teasingly, placing her hands on his shoulders. "You clean up well my boy. Let's go into the back for tea."

They follow Izayoi into the back. It's modernly furnished in the back, all black leather and grey metal. She takes a seat on one of the couches, and Sesshomaru sits next to her. The couch isn't nearly as comfortable as the one back in Sesshomaru's apartment. She tries to get comfortable, but the furniture is a bit stiff.

"I'm sorry they're so bad," Izayoi says demurely, bringing to them a pot of tea. Rin is surprised. It's as if she knew they were coming before they were even a block away. "They just look nice though so I can't help but keep them." She then turns to Sesshomaru. "It's been so long. Do you still play chess?"

"I've not had a good partner," he replies, taking a sip of the tea she so generously is offering. "I want to though. Do you still live back in the manor?" Rin looks between the two of them, holding onto the warm cup of tea. It nearly burns her hand, but it feels good in comparison to the chilly cold outside.

"I do, though it's bit large for me," she replies, sipping from her own cup of tea. "When you marry Rin though, you can have the place and create better memories there."

Rin nearly spits out the hot tea in her mouth. When she marries Sesshomaru? Is this woman high? She stares at the woman, mouth agape. Sesshomaru is rigid beside her, also surprised at the comment. What the hell? Izayoi must be drunk. Whiskey is probably on the grounds of the dress store.

"What?" she asks, shrugging her shoulders. "You know how I know everything, Sesshomaru. I can just tell the two of you will marry and have a happy life together. Why does that upset the both of you?"

"We are not in a romantic relationship," Sesshomaru replies, gathering his calm demeanor again. "Rin was rescued from the large trafficking ring we recently rescued barely two weeks ago. She is not ready for romantic relations." Rin turns her head to glare at Sesshomaru, as Izayoi smirks from behind the rim of her tea cup.

"You think you know whether or not I'm ready to have a romantic relationship?" she asks, glaring at him incredulously. She cannot believe him. She thought he was smart, but maybe she is wrong, maybe he is dumb as rocks. You'd think with all of those psychology books he would know human behavior, but she guesses he really doesn't.

"I'm sorry," he replies, looking down at her. She nods her head, looking away, the fighting air that had suddenly grown between them withering away. At least he is sorry. "I just thought that you would be uncomfortable with sexual interactions after what happened to you."

She rolls her eyes. "You don't have to have a sexual relationship just to have a romantic relationship. There are asexual people out there that have romantic partners," she points out. "Shouldn't you know this Mr. Psychology?"

They finish off the rest of their tea in relative silence. The only words to break the silence are the small chatter between Sesshomaru and Izayoi. She asks him about his hobbies, his job, his romantic life. He asks her about her life, his half-brother, who Kikyo was, etcetera. When they are getting ready to leave, Izayoi rushes further into the back to grab a white box. When she hands it to Rin, Rin immediately knows what it is and thanks Izayoi. Sesshomaru watches this questioningly, but does not say a thing. And when all is said and done, they are off to their next destination.

-[Chained]-

She pulls open the door to the bookstore, and Sesshomaru holds it open from behind her. She smiles back at him as she enters, bends down to pet the purring cat again, and reminds herself that she wants a cat still. She'll have to push that issue with Sesshomaru some more.

She piles up the books again. They haven't gotten much in since she last came in here, but there were so many books she wanted then that she didn't buy then that she is now. Sesshomaru follows behind her closely. She leads him to the erotica and non-fiction section after she has gathered the books that she wants. Sesshomaru browses the psychology books as she glances over the erotica books. The titles are ridiculous, and so are the covers when she occasionally pulls one out. Shirtless men and women in bras. How beautiful.

She slides back another erotica book called Take Her, and continues to browse further into the section. Her eyes land on a lavender book that is misshapen in comparison to the erotica books, taller than the rest of them. She narrows her eyes at it, and pulls it out. She quickly realizes when she pulls it out, that it is a fairy tale book. She flips it open, and lands to the page that has the fairy tale from her childhood. She smiles as she reads the familiar words. Rin turns around and taps Sesshomaru on the shoulder.

"What was the name of the fairy tale you told me earlier?" He gives her the title, The Mousy Girl and the Brave Boy, and she flips to the page with it. She gobbles up the words with a smile on her lips, and adds it to her pile of books. She is happy with finding the little treasure, and when they go to check out later, she pushes it to the front of the stacks and makes sure the person behind the counter scans it through first and adds it first to the receipt.

-[Chained]-

Rin and Sesshomaru sit at the sushi bar, the plates rolling past them. Rin reaches out and grabs a green plate and places it in front of her as a waiter brings to them, her a bottle of sake, and to Sesshomaru, a water. Sesshomaru reaches forward and grabs a pink plate with raw squid on it. She sticks out her tongue at his choice before shoving her tuna sushi into her mouth.

"Thanks for bringing me here," she says around a mouthful a rice, seaweed, and tuna, her hand covering her mouth. She reaches over and brings the bottle to her lips, and takes a sip of her sake. "This is awesome," she says after the alcohol slides down her throat like silk.

"Your welcome," he replies before shoving the piece of squid into his mouth with his chopsticks. He chews, barely managing to keep his mouth shut so as not to show the chewed up squid to the world, before reaching over and taking a sip of his cold water.

"Do you think we'll get married?" she asks after taking another sip of sake. Sesshomaru looks at her incredulously as she takes a bite of tuna sushi again.

"Perhaps," he murmurs after getting over the shock of his question. He takes another sip of his water. "If we did, we should have our wedding in February." He grabs a yellow plate off the conveyor and shoves the colorful sushi into his gob.

"Why?" she asks, taking another sip of her sake. "Because that seems to be my best month? I got saved in February, I would've met my future husband in February. Maybe we'll even have a child in February," she says. She takes another sip of her sake, and grabs a plate of edamame before it passes her by.

"Will you marry me?" he asks beside her.

She chuckles at him. "I'm the one drinking alcohol here. I should be making the drunken proposals." She snorts and grabs another plate before it passes her by. "If we did get married, where would we go for our honeymoon?"

"Fuji," he replies immediately. "I like Fuji apples." She laughs before taking another sip of sake.

"So will get married next year in February, I already have my dress, and will go to Fuji for our honeymoon," she mutters. "Hmph." She pops a soy bean into her mouth. "Sounds like a plan." Then she bursts out into laughter. A few people spare her a few odd glances, and so does Sesshomaru.

"Your right," he says, and laughs with her.


	9. Before

**Summary: **After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.

**AN: **I'm sorry about the cliff-hanger ending here! Please don't forget to tell me what you think of this story.

-[Chained]-

Rin sits quietly on the couch, fingers trembling as she holds onto the remote, mouth agape as she stares at the TV. Not that she is watching the TV, watching whatever story they have moved onto. No, she is still hung up on a story. Still left in the wake of that story, trembling in it's aftershocks as Sesshomaru bustles around the kitchen.

Ishida Onigumo got out on bail, and then proceeded to disappear.

Who is Ishida Onigumo, one might be wondering. Ishida Onigumo was the leader of the human trafficking ring that held Rin captive for five years, caused her to miss out on her birthdays, not be by the side of her grandma when she was dying of a terminal illness, and prevented her from graduating from the art college. Ishida Onigumo is THE monster, THE big bad, THE beast with a billion backs. Ishida Onigumo is the subject of her nightmares.

She has met Ishida Onigumo. Like so many other men, he visited her when she was chained to a bed in her dank prison. He made her do vile acts, hurt her, beat her, and all for his sick pleasure. She hates Ishida Onigumo, but she is more terrified than hateful now. What if he comes after her? What if she cannot hide from him? What if he hurts her again? What if he hurts someone else again? The horror, it is too much for her mind to comprehend.

Sesshomaru brings out lemonade, and instantly notices Rin's shaky, scared demeanor. He sets down the glasses and rushes to her side, his hand on her arm as he stares into her with golden depths full of concern. She is shaking so bad. The remote drops from her hands and clatters against the floor. Her brown eyes flick to the pieces of shattered plastic as Sesshomaru begins to pick it up.

"What happened?" he asks as he drops the pieces of the remote on the table. Time for a new remote, he muses, before turning back to Rin full of concern for his roommate. She shakes, arms crossed as she begins to rock back and forth. Instantly he is holding her, his strong arms wrapped around her. She stills in his grasp, and the tears begin to fall.

There are so many what ifs swirling around her mind. What if this and what if that. Her mind is a mess now the she knows the man who truly victimized her is out there somewhere, possibly headed straight for her. What if he hurts her again? What if he rapes her again? What if he victimizes her again? What if he kills her? So many what ifs; it's just a chaotic vortex of what ifs in her mind.

"Rin," Sesshomaru murmurs as the story repeats itself on the TV. Her ears prick towards the sound, the voice of the female reporter drifting to her as the words that haunt her fill her again. When the story is done, Sesshomaru turns back to her and pulls her into his lap, cradling her.

She is so scared, so terrified. The what ifs loom over her, as the shadow of her tormentor lingers around her. She is certain he will come. She is so certain, to the point that it is horror that makes the blood in her veins turn ice cold, and the sweat sticking to her skin to be less than room temperature. Her heart is pounding in her chest, pulse beating frantically as Sesshomaru attempts to calm the whirling storm inside of her.

This can't be happening, this just can't. This isn't supposed to happen. She was saved, she has her angel. She's possibly engaged. She has a freaking wedding dress. This is supposed to be her happy ending. No more angst, no more drama, no more heart break, no more terror. The monsters are supposed to be locked away, the key flushed down the toilet. That they're not supposed to have even the slightest chance of hurting her again. It's not supposed to be like this. This isn't how it's supposed to play out. Onigumo should be rotting in his cage, not possibly hunting her down.

She knows that it's all a what if, a possibility. Nothing is certain, he may just leave her alone. But she remembers how cruel he was, how sadistic. He would never leave her alone, he'd come after her. He'd come after them all, her first though because of how involved she is in the investigation, because of how much media coverage she has received. He won't let her have a happy ending, even if it's the last thing he does.

She knows he has deep ties too. He talked to her when he was torturing her. He was connected to Yakuza, to Triad, to the Mafia, to every organized criminal organization in existence. He knew all the worst of the worst, drank with them like they were old pals because they were. He could stay hidden if he wanted and it wouldn't take him long to find her. She has maybe four days if she is lucky, and then it's Rin pie.

"Rin, it'll be okay," says Sesshomaru, resting his chin atop her head. She sobs, and he wipes away the tears, the pads of his fingers surprisingly soft against her cheeks. "Shush," he hushes. She can't hush though. She sobs and sobs for that's the only thing she can do when facing death now. Finally she has a reason to live, and then her life is marked with an expiration date. It's unfair.

He sets her down gently on the couch and stands. Through her tear-blurred vision, she sees him walk towards the hallway. Is he going into the kitchen? She is confused. But then she sees him stop, and bend down. The swishing sound of plastic bags being moved meets her ears, and she realizes his is digging into their purchases from the bookstore. When he returns to the couch, he is holding the purple fairy tale book. He will comfort her with a fairy tale? How childish, yet appealing.

"Once upon a time, in a land long forgotten by time," he begins, "there was a battle waged between two kingdoms that too are not recorded in the history books. Every day, many soldiers fell to the swing of enemy swords, and blood ran likes rivers on the battle fields. It was a gruesome era of fighting, where brother turned against brother, and neighbors fought. Bloodshed was on all the people's minds.

"There was a soldier named Katashi. He was the son of a farmer, though one could not tell when he was on the battlefield. He was decorated man, with land, honor, and pride. He had become someone because of the war, and he was intent on keeping it that way.

"He had four daughters. The eldest was Ai. The second eldest was Nozomi. The third eldest was Kaoru. And the youngest was Arisu. Of his four daughters, all but one of them approved of their father and the war for they had been raised and groomed into the belief that the war meant everything, and peace was an abomination.

"The eldest daughter though, Ai, was the odd woman out. On the cusp of womanhood at the ripe age of thirteen, she thought for herself, and she could see the world. When she stepped outside the grandeur of Katashi's manor, she saw the grief-stricken mothers praying over the pile of rocks that were the make-shift graves for their sons that had gone to war and never returned. She saw the beggar children left orphaned by the way. She saw the drunken men missing limbs who had turned to the bottle. She saw the pain of the people, and because of her heart so filled with love, she could not condone the practices of her father.

"One day, the father announced the betrothal of Ai to an up and coming warlord. She was quite disappointed in her father, for he gave away her freedom upon the first wisps of her disagreement.

"She refused to lay with the oafish man who had become her husband through means not of her free will. She slipped sleeping potions into his rice wine every evening, starting from their wedding banquet, so he would fall asleep before he could ever take off his trousers. Meanwhile, well the beast snored loudly, Ai plotted at a table kept in their bedroom on how to end the war. She was determined to bring peace to the land, not because of a desire for fame like her father who kept the war going, but because of the good in her heart.

"Finally, she figured it out, and for the cause, finally gave herself to her husband. She spoke to him daily of her desire for peace. At first, he would smack her when the words would leave her mouth, but day after day of hearing the same desire soon moved his heart. He too wanted peace.

"She used this same method on the servants of the castle. She would lead them in morning prayers for peace. At first, only one or two showed up for they were treated well by the warlord, but then more and more began to show. Even her husband came to them when he was not drafting peace treaties. When she saw how well the tactic worked, she used her prayers and shared them with the villagers who flocked to her in droves from all across the lands.

"Now Katashi was quite upset when word of this reached his ear. His own daughter was plotting to take away the means in which he elevated himself from being a poor farm boy with terrible land to an honored general. He sent assassin after assassin after her, but the good of her, her heart and her message, shined so brightly that each assassin put down their blade and never picked it up again. This made Katashi quite mad.

"So in one last attempt, he marched with ten thousand soldiers to the gates of Ai's manor. He was determined to burn it to the ground, but then his daughter showed her face. She wore the rags of a peasant, and she brought no men with her. Even her husband had been forbidden from following her to face her father. He was so moved by the gesture that he put down his blade, called for peace like his daughter, and returned to his roots and became a farmer."

When the story is done, Rin's tears have dried. Sesshomaru glances to her, and upon seeing that she is no longer sobbing and shaking, closes the book. He reaches towards the coffee table and takes a sip of his lemonade as Rin sits curled up in silence.

"He's going to come after me," she whispers. He wraps an arm around her shoulder as her lower lip begins to quiver once more. At least she is talking now. "And when he does, he's going to hurt me again. He's going to turn me back into the fantasy. He's going to chain me up again, make me a slave, hurt me and beat me."

"I will protect you," says Sesshomaru as he holds her, and she relaxes into his hold.

-[Chained]-

"Hello, this Matsumoto Rin," answers Rin as she plays with corner of the Suns Time magazine with the picture of chains on the cover. "What may I do for you?" She always answers the phone so politely, like she is working at a department store and is trying to make a sale. She's always wondered why she does it that way, but could never come up with an answer.

"I'm Nekotani Asuna, the founder of the popular talk show Yay or Nay and we would like to bring you onto our show for an interview," says the woman on the other end. Rin's mouth drops. She knows what talk show she is talking about, what talk show is calling her. It's the one that said just the other day that she was nothing but a PR move.

"What time?" she asks. She is curious. They seemed so adamant that she didn't exist, yet here they were, calling her, wanting her to come onto their show. While there, would they claim her to be an actress? Would they badmouth her on live television. She doesn't know, but she is excited for the opportunity for some reason. It's another platform for her to speak her mind, and she really has the hankering to give these women a piece of her mind.

"In two days we can have you on. The show starts at ten," says the woman, who continues on to detail the address and everything else Rin will need when going on air. "Thank you for your time," the woman finishes, and hangs up before Rin can say anything in return. With a shrug of her shoulders, her locks her phone, sets it down, and returns to the couch where Sesshomaru is reading one of his psychology books.

-[Chained]-

Sesshomaru kills the ignition as they arrive at the studio. With a shaky breath, she steps out of the car and onto her surprisingly sturdy legs. Here she is, facing the women who dared to call her a PR move. Here she is, for the first time, showing her face on television. Here she is, going fully public when in the past she had remained semi-anonymous. It is a scary feeling, but her adrenaline is pumping too and she is excited. This is what she wants to do.

When she gets inside, she is immediately rushed to hair and make-up. Brushes and curling irons, she feels like she is suffocating in the chair beneath all of their hands. She is then rushed to wardrobe, where they strip her out of the ankle-length skirt and turtle neck, and put her in an a business suit, the pencil-skirt that reaches her knees is orange, and the blazer over her white button-up shirt, green. She slips into a pair of black heels, and unsteadily walks to the curtains.

Sesshomaru stands beside her, holding her hand, wearing the same clothes he walked in here wearing. He points to a seat in the audience where he will sit during her interview, and she waves him away. She can do this. She wants to do this. This is what she needs to do. She knows that, and that is why she stands behind the curtains breathing slowly and she furls and unfurls her hands in an attempt to calm her poor nerves.

The hosts walk out onto the set, waving like beauty queens to the cameras and audience. The audience claps as they are supposed to, until the woman she knows to be Asuna shushes them. They talk about some stuff like they're supposed to, cut to break, come back and share cooking secrets. When she is finally called onto the set, her feet are throbbing in the heels.

"Ms. Matsumoto, it's a pleasure to meet you," says Asuna as she shakes Rin's hand. Asuna and Rin take their seats, and Rin brushes off the imaginary dirt from her skirt. "Previously on Yay or Nay, we've talked about the human trafficking ring that has been the center of all news reports lately. We dismissed it as the truth being stretched, and in a moment of I don't know what was going on, I came up with the theory that Ms. Matsumoto, the only publicly known victim, was nothing but a PR move on the part of the police," she recaps to the audience. "Here with us today is Ms. Matsumoto, and before we continue, I just have to ask, how wrong was my theory?" Asuna and the audience look towards Rin.

In the audience, Rin meets eyes with multiple different people, nerves on fire. But then she meets gazes with her angel and she calms herself. She turns back to Asuna, with a fake smile plastered on her face. "Very wrong," she says in a condescending tone. "There are plenty of records of me, the police report regarding my disappearance five years ago, school records, medical records. I'm a human being, and have been for twenty-five years now."

The smile on Asuna's face falters for a moment, but it is only a moment, and then it is back, her red lips spread wide. Her brown eyes are narrowed into a glare though as she looks at Rin, tension in the air. Rin looks at Asuna haughtily. She knows she's being a bit of a jerk, but these people said she was a liar, flat-out said it on live TV. They didn't really deserve niceties.

"Well then, I must apologize for what I said. I take it back, and I hope you can forgive me for having a moment of insanity." Rin just smiles at the woman. Asuna smiles back. "Can you detail to us your imprisonment in the ring?"

"Of course," Rin says calmly, evenly. "I was in a very small room that had one window, and a bed. The room was made of cement. I was chained to the bed. It had a mattress, but no sheets. I was underground mostly, the window was at the very top of the wall. I had to be good if I wanted food, a bath, blankets, even a heater. I had to go along with what the men wanted. The men that came to me wanted their rape fantasies played out, so it wasn't much of a stretch when I was acting. I mostly ate cold rice, cold fish, and cold steamed vegetables. The bath, since I was good, I got once every other day. It was very cold there." She is calm while saying her part, even though she is breaking inside.

"That sounds like hell," says Asuna as her smile falters again. This time the frown remains for more than a millisecond, though the fake smile returns. "What's life been like since you've been rescued?" she asks. Rin is almost duped for a moment into believing she is sincere, but she catches herself before she falls into that trap.

"Good. I've had a very good friend help me through this time, so though I've seen, heard, and met many people who shared the same opinions you do, I've survived. Though, it was very hard to learn that my grandmama, who was my only living relative before I was kidnapped, had died while I was imprisoned."

"I don't hold that opinion anymore," says Asuna. Rin is taken aback. "Just talking to you even as briefly as we have talked, I can see your pain. This isn't just an act. What you describe is beyond imagination. I know you couldn't have come up with it yourself. I'm voting yay for you already, nay for you being an actress and a liar."

Rin cannot help herself as she leans across and hugs Asuna, who hugs her back. She hugs the other women who have remained silent during this exchange. They vote the same way Asuna does. The chatter continues, she answers questions from the audience, and after about fifteen minutes, they say goodbye to her.

She is content with what has transpired today. She is beyond content, she is thrilled. She has changed the opinion of a group of influential women on TV, which means she will have changed the opinion of any people who believe the same things they do. That makes her so happy. She is practically skipping as she and Sesshomaru head for his car.

And then everything goes black.


	10. Storm

**Summary: **After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.

**AN: **There is a piece of characterization choice that I made in this chapter that might be a bit confusing. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in a review because I don't want to leave anyone scratching their heads until they bleed.

-[Chained]-

Where she is, it's another prison. This time there is no window, this time there is just a metal bed, and a chain around her wrist. She is chained again. She is trapped again. She is naked, vunerable, ready to become a victim again if you don't count kidnapping as a victimizing act. A silk, muted pink sheet covers her from the waist down. It was cold in the room, dark and dank like her old prison.

She's not stupid, she knows who has her. Ishida Onigumo. He has kidnapped her, like she expected. He has chained her, victimized her again, trapped her in his web of sadism when she thought she had broken free of her bonds.

The metal door sounds heavy as it slides across the floor. Her brown eyes flick up to the tall man entering her chamber. He's badly burnt, that is how Ishida Onigumo looks, how he's always looked. From what he's told her, he once was a good guy, a police officer despite the fact she finds that hard to believe. But then he was burned. People shunned him, were frightened of him, they hated him, called him a monster. How true his words were back then, she doesn't know, she doesn't trust monsters. He said though, that he turned to crime when justice no longer paid off for him.

"Rinny, how are you?" he asks in his raspy voice as he drops a plate of chicken piccata on the bed in front of her. When her eyes land on the food, she realizes how hungry she is, and quickly begins digging in. It is good. Much better than the food in her first prison. "Better than cold fish and rice, neh?" he asks, sitting on the bed beside her, stroking her head. She nods her head as she shoves it into her mouth. "You don't fear that it is poisoned?"

She freezes, fork centimeters from her slightly parted lips. She glances at him, brown eyes wide in fear. He laughs, and pushes the fork towards her lips. She takes the food into her mouth and slowly chews it. It tastes right, but did he really poison it? She is very concerned now.

"Do not fret, pet," he says, chuckling at the rhyme, "I don't want to kill you. I've missed you Rin as I sat rotting away in my prison cell. Is that how you felt when you were in your old room, and in this room?" She nods her head slowly. "If you're good, then I'll let you roam," he promises, patting her on the head.

He leans in, and places a kiss on her lips. She sits frozen, not moving as he pulls away and smiles at her.

"Are you surprised dear?" he says, caressing her cheek. "I don't want to hurt you," he whispers against her skin, leaving feather light kisses on her tan skin. "You must think me an evil monster for how I've treated you in the past. I must apologize for that. It was awful of me, but I was in denial like so many of those women who denied that you were telling the truth. I was in denial of my love for you, so I hurt you. I thought if I deformed you, broke you, I wouldn't love you anymore. It didn't stop it. It hurt me to hurt you."

He gropes her, his fingers on her breasts. He rubs circles into her skin, and lavishes kisses against her neck. She gasps. She is disgusted. Onigumo is so deluded, he thinks he loves her. He thinks that by stopping the torture, she will love him back. By attempting to give her pleasure, he is doing nothing more than making her hate him even more.

"Rin, I know you probably hate me," he says, looking into her eyes, "I'm certain you love the white-haired man I had to fight off to get you, but I want you to know something," he continues. He brings his lips to her ears, and smirks. "I'll have him killed if you don't play along."

She gulps, and kisses his ear. He kisses her ear back. He leans back and looks at her, creases at the corners of his eyes as he smiles at her. She leans forward and kisses his chin, and moves up to kiss his lips. He kisses back, his chapped lips against hers making her want to vomit. She must save her angel though. When his tongue touches her bottom lip, she allows him the access to her mouth that he is asking for, even though she feels like running away and rinsing her mouth out with soap.

He pulls away again. She leans forward to kiss him some more, but her puts a finger to her lips. "No, no Rinny. Let's wait. I don't want to rush into anything," he says. He pushes a lock of her black hair behind her ear. "Baby, it's good to know you love me back, crave me as you do, but I have things to attend to. Don't worry, your silver-haired man is safe."

With that Onigumo leaves. Rin curls up into the pink sheets, holding her knees against her chest as she bites her lip, trying to hold back the tears that threaten to spill.

-[Chained]-

Sesshomaru's fist slams down on the table, startling the room into silence. His jaw is clenched, eyes shut tightly. The people sitting around him, look at him with wide, frightful eyes. Sesshomaru is never this mad. The only time they have seen someone this mad, someone ended up with a broken nose and that was the other day when someone said Rin was lying too.

"Why the hell are we all sitting around here?!" he yells. "We should have dogs out there and men. There is a missing woman out there, and the person who kidnapped her is Ishida Onigumo."

He is seething in rage. They are doing nothing quick enough. They have no men searching for her, let alone dog teams. They say that the teams after Onigumo will likely find her so they don't need to spend anymore man power on her. There is debate though, that is why he is yelling. There shouldn't be a debate, they should be searching for Rin since she was kidnapped by a wanted criminal who has a history with her. He could kill her, and there might not even be any men out there looking for her.

"Get him out of here!" someone yells, the headmen. Two men pop up and pull him out of there, though he is struggling. They pull him into an interrogation room and lock him in there. When they check on him later with a salad from WacDonald's, he is pacing like a mad man.

"They've got men out there," says the man who hands him the salad. "They've got a wholly separate search team from the Onigumo one out there."

-[Chained]-

Rin pulls on the sheer lace nightgown Onigumo threw to her when he entered that day. It is cool against her skin, and leaves her still feeling exposed. He nods his head in approval, and holds out his hand for her to grab, which she does, and lets him pull her to her feet.

"Do you wish to take a tour of my manor?" he asks with a smile on his lips. He leans down and kisses her, his lips lingering on hers. She kisses him back, holding onto his hand tightly. "I'm glad," he says, opening the door for her. She walks through, and waits for him to lock it behind them. "I think you will love it. I have decorated it with stuff that I thought you might like. There are flowers everywhere, and lots of art. I remember you telling me you loved painting before we took you. I have a studio set up for you even."

"Thank you," she whispers demurely, squeezing his hand. He smiles at her and leads her down the hall. He shows her no other rooms in the basement. All of the doors are closed and locked, and he tells her not to worry about them as he leads her to the stairs.

When he leads her upstairs, they enter into a small room. He presses a buttons, and the stairs disappear down into the basement, and a tile floor slides over the gaping hole. She gasps in surprise, and he smirks at her. Through another door he leads her to the great room. She grasps at the grandeur of the room. He leads her into the kitchen, complete with a computer desk, breakfast table, and family room. Leading her through a hallway with beautiful art hanging on the walls, he leads her to her studio. It's wonderful. He shows her a safe, a gun room which he tells her never to enter without him, a storage room, and a massage parlor. He shows her two guest suites, a sun room, an indoor pool, another office, a workshop, and the garage with four expensive cars.

"My son bought the house, and it's under his name, but I'm the one who decorated it," he says as she steps into her studio again. "I hope you will be able to give Naraku many brothers and sisters," he says, wrapping his arms around her. She freezes, gulps, and calms herself again, leaning back into him.

He then takes her to see the right wing of the house. He shows her first the master bedroom. It has two closets, one for him, and one for her. Hers is full of beautiful gowns and clothing. The master bathroom is huge, marble everywhere. It's gorgeous. Through a set of french glass doors, he shows her an indoor garden. It's so lush and beautiful. He leads her out of the garden, and out of the bedroom and shows her the library. She browses the shelves for a moment, and spots the little fairy tale book Sesshomaru had read to her, and she is saddened. She shoves it away though, and follows Oniguo to see the home theater, gym, arcade-man cave, basketball court, tennis court, shooting range, golf simulator, recording studio, and glass room.

"What do you think of the house," he asks her as they stand in the middle of the glass room. He holds onto her from behind, arms wrapped around her neck as he sniffs her hair. "I'd show you the outdoor pool," he says at he points to where the pool is out the window, "but I'm afraid I'm not that comfortable yet. I hope you understand."

She nods her head. "I love it," she says, turning her head to place a kiss on his lips. He smiles kisses her back. "Thank you so much for this," she murmurs as she pulls out of his grasp and goes to stand by the window. The sky is grey, the trees a dark green. The land is beautiful though, the outdoor gardens to die for.

"We're alone here," he says, coming to stand beside her. "This will be our haven for as long we are both on this earth."

-[Chained]-

The shot rings out. Another shot rings out, and another, and another, and another. Sesshomaru lowers the gun down and reloads it before shooting again. His face is emotionless, a steady mask of stoicism. The shots are loud, but muffled due to the earplugs. The gun is heavy in his hands, but he pulls the trigger over and over and over.

A year has passed now since Onigumo kidnapped Rin from right underneath his nose. The trail has long since gone cold. Rin has never been found, neither has Onigumo. Onigumo disappeared into thin air. They checked all of the properties Onigumo owned, all of the properties his son Naraku owned. They found nothing. It was like he never existed.

He shoots the gun again. He wishes now that he looks back on things, that he had brought the gun with him the day of the interview. He wishes so much he could've pulled it out and shot the bastard over and over. He pretends the target he is shooting now is Onigumo, and pours bullet after bullet into it.

A woman's hand rests on his shoulder, and he looks back at the woman. It is his step-mother, Izayoi, who smiles at him. He puts down the gun and hugs her.

-[Chained]-

"Rinny," says Onigumo, his hand kneading the tense muscles of her back. "You shouldn't lay on your stomach," he warns. She turns over onto her side so she can face the badly burned man. "You don't want to hurt the baby."

She is still disgusted by this man, she is still disgusted that he holds her here. But she still acts. The threat still lingers over Sesshomaru, so she still must act. She doesn't know whether Onigumo still knows if she is acting, or if he believes that she is genuinely in love with him. She is not, but she will pretend. She will pretend to be pleased with his scarred fingers touching her smooth skin, or pleased with the fact his child grows within her womb. She is not pleased, but she is protecting Sesshomaru.

She hopes that Sesshomaru has moved on, fallen in love with a new woman, is the angel of a new woman. She doesn't want him to hurt over her anymore. She hopes he doesn't hurt over her disappearance. She hopes his heart doesn't ache over her. He hopes he doesn't beat himself up over her.

"Rinny, do you want me to make you French toast?" he asks. She smiles and nods at him. He kisses her on the forehead and gets up. He is naked. He is naked often. They are so far from society, so in their own world here that nudity is not a problem. No one will see them. She bites back bile whenever she sees Onigumo naked, but she sees it so often it barely fazes her any longer.

She gets up, and slips on an overly large grey T-shirt, and red plaid pajama bottoms. She walks through the house which is so familiar to her now. The marble tiles beneath her feet are cool, and she regrets now not putting on socks. She heads to the kitchen though, and takes a seat on the couch in the family room. She turns on the TV. Onigumo doesn't allow her to watch the news. It turns to a crime drama, and she is content.

Onigumo hands her the plate with her French toast. She blows on it before she digs in. Onigumo is a surprisingly good cook. He sits down beside her and watches the crime drama beside her. The speculate regarding the killer until it is finally revealed in a hail of gunfire.

After breakfast, they take a dip in the pool. The warm water feels good on her skin. They end up making love during the swim. She hates the feel of him on her, but she lets him do what he wants, kisses him back because it's all a charade. Everything is a charade here, and she is disgusted by the charade, but she goes with it for her angel's sake.

-[Chained]-

The child is born. It's a boy. She names it Katashi in silent spite of Onigumo, after the fairy tale king who loved nothing but war. At least Katashi's story ended well, and she hopes her own Katashi's story will end will good.

The birth took only five hours. It was relatively painless, at least what she would assume is relatively painless for something so large to come out of her down there. He came into the world crying and screaming, of average weight and size. The midwife, a Yakuza member who was used to delivering children for wanted criminals, placed him in Rin's arms and she didn't know whether or not she hated Katashi or loved him with all her heart.

She knows that sounds terrible of her, that she couldn't decide whether to love or to hate her child. It left her feeling mixed, uncertain of what she felt as she held the baby in her arms. She couldn't decide in the following months either. Whether to love him or to hate him. So she smiled and loved him on the outside, mostly felt mixed on the inside, and in the back of her mind, allowed herself to hate him.

"Rinny," says Onigumo, taking Katashi from her arms, "you're shaking." It's a warning. He's telling her that her charade, her facade, is slipping. She nods her head and goes to her studio, let's herself relax and calm down in the only place in this house that she is comfortable in, the only place in which Onigumo has never touched her.

After some while, Onigumo enters and pats her on the back. "Naraku came and took Katashi. He'll take him for a couple of days, and we can rest together here." He lifts her up from the chair, and she smiles softly at him. "See, you're just stressed because of the baby. Everything will be okay."

-[Chained]-

She is heading towards the storage room. She is cold, she wants an extra blanket to curl up on the couch with as Onigumo shoots at his shooting range. She grabs one of the soft, baby-blue blankets. She sees the purple book of fairy tales, and remembers hiding it here during her pregnancy because Onigumo kept asking why she was reading it so much. She grabs it, sits on the floor, and reads one of the stories.

Many years ago, there was a woman. Now she was of no spectacular beauty, but she was not ugly either. She was average. Average Ritsu, the village boys taunted. Her father was a farmer, one with average lands and average yields. She came from an average family, and she was average. Average, average, average.

She was of marrying age, and she was betrothed to one of the local farm hands. She was happy to marry him, he seemed like quite the good man. In the village square, he gave out rice balls to the poor orphans, and helped the elderly fetch water from the river. She was quite pleased. Her husband seemed to be above average, and she thought while she his wife, she would become more than average.

But he was even more than average. He was cruel. He beat her. When birds landed in their windowsill, he would snap their wings off and watch them die a slow death. He stepped on every bug he saw, roasted squirrels alive. She was scared of the man she had married, the man who had seemed so nice but ended up so cruel.

One evening, while he was out chopping firewood, she brought him tea. She brought him tea every evening. This tea is different though, brewed with poisonous herbs. She knows how terrible this is, but she cannot stand by while he is cruel anymore. He drinks the tea, and says that it is delicious. With every swing of his ax though, he grows fainter and fainter, transparent really, to the point where he no longer existed. With that, the world was free of the menace that had been average Ritsu's husband, and no longer was average Ritsu average.

Rin smiles when she finishes reading the story. She places it back in it's hiding spot, and grabs the blanket again, ready to leave. As she is stepping out of the storage room, she sees the cracked open door to the room she is never allowed. The gun storage room. The story of average Ritsu immediately repeats itself in her mind, and she knows what she must do. She drops the blanket.

Inside she grabs a small, semi-automatic handgun, loads it, and walks slowly and quietly towards where she hears the tell-tale bang bang of a gun. Guns are illegal in Japan for anyone outside of law enforcement, so she has never carried a gun before. She never even picked up Sesshomaru's gun. It is heavy in her hands, heavy like the guilt festering in her for the act she is about to commit.

She pushes open the door to the shooting range. He does not hear her approach. She wonders if he even hears the gunshot as she holds it to his temple and fires. She wonders if he ever realized he was about to die, if his life flashed before her eyes. She doesn't think so, it doesn't seem that way.

Onigumo is dead with one-shot, and Rin is now a murderer on the run, leaving behind her the pain and the torment, and a baby son.


	11. Rebirth

**The following two chapters are unedited. They're riddled with typos. I burnt myself by updating daily and writing one to two chapters. These were ready when I disappeared. I hope you enjoying. I'll edit them later.**

* * *

Thirty. That's a big number. Thirty years of being on this earth, thirty years of breathing, bleeding, crying, and living. Thirty years of being human. That's is quite the big number, quite the significant mile stone. She should be out celebrating with family and friends, partying it up like she is still twenty rather than thirty. But she is not. She is sitting at a sushi bar, the same sushi bar she celebrated her twenty-fifth birthday at, sipping her sake with a wry sneer on her face.

She hasn't really celebrated her birthday since she was twenty-five. Not when she was with Onigumo. He said celebrating a birthday was celebrating coming closer to dying, and he wanted to live forever. She hasn't celebrated it in the four years since. She simply hadn't been interested. She had no one to celebrate it with. She was alone, there was no reason to bother.

She isn't celebrating it now. Her mind has stumbled across the topic when she hears a group of people seated at a booth singing Happy Birthday. It is her birthday too, she realizes. Her thirtieth. Not that it matters. Perhaps she should be looking to get married, settle down, have a child.

She pushes down the bile that rises in her throat, and prevents the name from even reaching her conscious. But she is aware of the irony of that statement. She is aware that she already has a child. How could she not? She still has the baby-fat, the stretch marks. She still remembers the pain, she still remembers the name. Katashi. Ishida Katashi. She still knows. She knows she abandoned her baby to Naraku, the beast who was the son of a monster. She knows what she did is terrible. There are nights she lies awake because of it. But it is for the best. She had to. She couldn't love the child like she is supposed to, not when it was the product of coerced sexual intercourse. She knows it's not the child's fault, it's the father, but could she stand seeing it grow up to resemble the monster? She cannot think so.

So she sits alone. She has been so alone these past four years, so very alone in, traveling from place to place. Itinerant. Transient. She has been to Beijing. The air was terrible. She has been to Milan. The fashion was lovely. She has been to Paris. The Eiffel tower was the epitome of beautiful. She has been to Venice. Rowing down the canals would've been so romantic had she had someone with her. She has been to Singapore. She doesn't remember her trip that well, but she remembers enjoying it. She has been to Hong Kong. Damn was it expensive, but the food was good. She has been to London. She met the queen. She has been to New York. The buildings were quite tall. She has been to to Bangkok. She got mugged while there. She has been so many places, that's just the icing on the cake. She is quite well-traveled now.

Her work takes her around the world. She is an actress now. She is world renowned for her skill in front of the camera. Perhaps it is because she has acted for so many years, it doesn't even feel like an act anymore. She has acted liked she's loved someone she hated. There is no role too hard after that role.

She has a new name too. No longer is she Matsumoto Rin. She has taken a name that comes from her mother's home country. Hong Kong. Wu Anne. People call to Wu Anne, love her, worship the ground she walks on. She is even aware that there is a cult that believes her to be God. The blue-eyed, blonde, Asian woman Wu Anne. She is a walking anomaly.

When she doesn't want to be Wu Anne, she dons a black wig, takes out the contacts, and walks around. She'll give the name Matsumoto Rin, even though she feels the bile raising in the back of her throat at the name. She holds no attachment to the name, in fact, all she harbors is hatred for the name. She has only ever been in pain and suffering when she has been Matsumoto Rin. Not that she likes Wu Anne any more. Wu Anne is but a charade, a character.

The trafficking ring is nothing but dust in the wind. No one remembers it, no one cares. The men are locked away, the victims have moved on. They found the corpse of Ishida Onigumo, shot in the temple. It was said to be a suicide. She made it look like a suicide and it worked. They never found Matsumoto Rin, even though she stills uses the name occasionally. She has been written off as a runaway since she wasn't found in the home where Onigumo was. Some probably believe she is dead, buried on the grounds of the abandoned mansion just before Onigumo shot himself.

She has not seen her angel in the four years since she escaped Onigumo. She has not bothered. She still hopes he has moved on, fell in love, started a family, finished a degree in psychology. She hasn't checked though. All she brings with her is misery, so she stays out of his life. It hurts her, yes, she realizes now that she loved him back then. She dreams occasionally of being Mrs. Tsukimori Sesshomaru, putting away the charades and characters, letting her hair fade to brown-black. But then she stops dreaming, and reminds herself that is someone she can never be.

The bell above the door rings, snapping her from her musings. She throws back the sake, lets it pour like silk down her throat, and glances to who is walking in. She snorts, a smirk tugging at her lips as her eyes land on the man she was mere moments before musing over. She is in Tokyo. There is the chance of running into him, however small that is.

She grabs her black trench coat and readies to leave. She will still uphold to staying out of his life, letting him move on and stay moved on. Her sake is done, she is full, and she is content with seeing him one last time. She can leave now. She reminds herself to never return to Tokyo. He is still here. But then her brown eyes meet with gold ones.

She is shocked, standing still like a pole as he pushes past the waitress to come and stand before her. His eyes say he believes he is looking at a mirage, a ghost. That must be what she is to him, a shade of the past, unreal as she stands there before him in the sushi bar. His fingers reach up to touch her face, to make sure that she is real, and she lets him touch her.

She has failed, she guesses. She wanted to leave, to stay out of his life, but now he stands right in front of her, towering over her like he always has, caressing her cheek. She can't pull herself away, can't cringe away from his touch. He is like a drug, and she is like a recovering drug addict, and he's her drug of choice. They always said love is like drug, and she guesses they are correct, as she stands here.

The waitress walks over to them, realizes somehow that it is two lovers meeting after a long time, and sits them down next to each other. She takes her seat again, places her coat over her lap. She is here, he knows she is here, she cannot run away like she had planned, and she really doesn't want to. So she orders herself more sake, and grabs a plate of edamame, pops a soy bean into her mouth, and looks up at him. He is watching her, like as if he should take his gaze off of her, she will disappear. And maybe she will. She doesn't know, she is starting to feel like a ghost herself.

"You're real," he finally whispers. He is resting his head on his clasped hands watching her as she sips her sake, her brown eye continually flicking to him. They've been sitting here for how long? Twenty minutes now, correct? And this is the first time either of them have spoken. He has not eaten either.

"I'm real," she mutters back. "Sometimes it doesn't feel that way, but I am real." Because it is true. Sometimes she doesn't feel real. The life she has lived, it can be real. She can't possibly have been chained to a bed for five years, raped and beaten. She can't possibly have had two weeks of freedom, met an angel, before returning to the darkness. It can't be possibly she was kidnapped and forced to play along as a delusional man's lover. It just can't be real.

"What has happened to you?" he wonders aloud. She looks at him, conveying the thought of 'do you really want to know?' as she watches him with brown eyes. "Yes I want to know," he replies to her unspoken question. She sighs, throws back the last of her sake, and flags down a waitress. He is most certainly going to pay for all of this sake, and be the designated driver.

So she explains to him all that has happened. She explains to him her days with Onigumo, tastefully leaving out the fact she was the one that killed him, and that she had his son. She continues onto detail her days as an actress. He has seen some of her work, he comments. Shadow Child, The Vacant Lot, Silence of a Servant, The Touch of Man, The Silk-Clad Woman, The Savior, etc. She has starred in a lot of movies in a relatively short career.

"Have you painted recently," he asks. It seems like an innocent question, a mere curiosity, but she freezes, barely managing to stop herself from dropping the cup of sake and letting it crack as it hits the counter. It is not an innocent question, but the answer is no.

She has not not painted, she no longer paints. Painting she associates with the past, with the misery. Every time she has tried to paint, for she has, she has ended up a balling mess. So she no longer paints. She has cried so many times, to the point that she hates crying. That means she does not paint. She explains that to him, and he slowly nods when she is finished, beginning to comprehend just how broken the Rin he knew has become.

For she is broken. She is so very broken. She has fallen, cracked, and been shattered into a million pieces. Men have tried to pick her up and piece her together. Sesshomaru succeeded, but she didn't remain together very long. She broke again, fell again. Men along the way since then have tried to put her back together, like Humpty Dumpty, but unlike Humpty Dumpty, she doesn't want to be put back together again. She just wants to remain broken so she won't hurt her again, and again, and again. It is a sad life, but it is her life.

Then he begins to detail his days since she was taken, snapping her from her depression. He informs her that he is going back to college. He wants at least a masters degree, though hopefully a PhD. Dr. Tsukimori Sesshomaru. She likes it. He tells her how heart-broken he was over her with a wry smile, tells her that he went to counseling finally when she was taken, how he never gave up on searching for her. She learns he never moved on fully and she realizes she is kind of glad she ran into him again. If he hasn't moved on, then she can be here. At least, that's what she supposes.

He tells her about what has happened to Sara. She has become a fashion designer, he informs her, and she sells her dresses at Izayoi's shop. He tells her what has happened to Izayoi. She still runs her shop, not much has changed with her, but the bond between step-mom and step-son is much better. He informs her that Kohaku has come around more than once, looking for news of her, though he does not like Kohaku. Jealousy at it's finest. He informs her sadly that the bookstore has gone out of business, though before it did he bought all sorts of books from them that he thought she might like. They're all in her room.

He still sleeps on the couch. He still takes his coffee with more creamer than coffee, and now with five cubes of sugar. He has four flavors of ice cream in the fridge, and a stale red bean ice cream contained from five years back that he used to console himself while he was missing her. He has become a much better baker. Bakes a cake on her birthday every year. He tells her she can have a piece.

She is fighting back tears when he is done. They are happy tears though, not the miserable tears that she has cried so many times. She hugs him, and he hugs her back, smiling into her shoulder. She is hungry now, and they eat sushi together. He pays the bill.

"Can I stay with you?" she asks as they are walking towards his truck. She took public transportation to get her. "Please take me by my hotel, I need to get some stuff," she informs him, and tells him where to go. He drives her there, she grabs her stuff, and checks out.

They go home, and she decides, she is done with the charades.

When they walk inside the familiar apartment, she feels like crying again. He takes her bags to her room, and she sits on the couch. The couch has not changed too. It all looks the same. Well not all the same. He has gotten a new TV, and he has multiple game consoles too. She laughs. Sesshomaru has become a gamer? He has a new laptop too. He has shelves full of movies, music, and games. He has gotten a new coffee table, and on it is a mug she has never seen. There are small new knick-knacks, and she kind of likes the new stuff.

He brings out to her a piece of cake with a candle on it. This time, she can blow out the candle. The cake is even better than the one he made five years ago from store bought mix. White cake with vanilla icing, decorated with little orange flowers. So yummy. He also brings her coffee, completely black, no sugar no creamer. She gulps it down greedily. It also good.

They settle in to watch movies. So many movies. She asks him about the games, he tells her he got into them as a way to take out his frustration towards the world. She nods her head, and asks to play one with him. What? She can't have fun too? He gets in, pops in a game, and brings her back a remote. It is a racing game. He beats her like she is a newborn, but she doesn't care, she is having fun with him and so is he. Finally she wins the last race, and they high-five.

She goes into her room, not to sleep, she is not tired. How could she be tired? She is completely wired from finally finding Sesshomaru again. She peruses the books he has bought her with a smile. Somehow, he knows he taste in books so well. Romance novels or historical novels. She thanks him, and reads one of the books to him as he rests his head in her lap. They laugh at some of the silly details of the book, and she blushes as she reads the erotic scene. Oh god, she is so embarrassed as she reads the naughty details to him, and he is laughing at her as she does so. After she reads the last word, and takes a sip of orange soda he has brought to her at one point, they discuss the book.

She is still wired as the sun begins spilling through the window. So is he. He calls into work and says he will be taking a vacation day. They ask him why, he tells them why, and they give him the week off. She kisses him when she learns this. She's kissed him before, on the cheek, but this time it's on the lips. The kiss lasts. The kiss is passionate. And it ends up in his bedroom. Wink wink.

It is her first time in his room. It's sparsely furnished, mostly black in white. The sheets on the bed are white, the covers black, and the pillow cases red. They're soft beneath her bare skin, and she wonders why Sesshomaru chooses to sleep on the couch all the time when he has such a nice, soft, large bed. She asks him as he holds her in his arms, nuzzling her neck. He tells her he does not sleep in here, because the bed is meant for two and he is just one.

They do not sleep here either, though they are starting to come down from their high. She sits on one of the bar stools, wearing one of his robes as he wears blue plaid pajama bottoms. He makes them French toast and eggs. He French toast is much better than any French toast that Onigumo ever made her. They eat, they chatter. She is enjoying herself so much. They watch TV, make fun of the commercials. Finally she is tired. They take a shower together, wash each other, love each other. He dries her off, she places kisses on his skin. She goes to lay down in his bed, naked, eyes drooping, ready to sleep finally. But just before he joins her in the bed, her shows her a glimmering gem, a ring. Gets down on one knee and all that good stuff.

"Rin, will you marry me?"

"Yes."


	12. Normal

"Brother, where is mommy?" asks the little boy, wide red eyes staring up at the black haired man with childish innocence.

It takes Naraku a moment to recognize what the boy is asking, to caught up in his thoughts to realize the boy, Katashi, is asking for Kagura and not the location of his real mother, the whore that seduced his father and killed him, decieved the cops into believing that it was a suicide, and ran away to have a happy life, leaving him with the burden of raising her son.

"Out," he says with a sigh. The boy's face falls. Naraku slips a piece of crimped black hair behind his ear, picks up the boy, and holds him in his lap. The little boy tugs the piece of hair from where he'd slipped it, and tugged on it with a smirk. Naraku rolled his eyes, grabbed the four year old's hand and shakes it. "She's buying you a birthday cake."

He has come to like his brother. He has come to love the little boy like he is his own child, though he makes sure the boy know they are brothers not father and son. The boy is sweet, he is fun and cute. For a monster like him, one who does not love, one who values power and blood above human emotion and the silly concept of love, that is quite surprising. Katashi is a precious boy, despite his despicable mother.

What kind of mother abandons their child? What kind of mother kills the man who has provided everything for her, and flees into the world when she has a child away? Would she have killed the child? Would she have taken a pillow and smothered the boy to escape the life? He is aware she was not his father's woman out of her own free will. He is not stupid. He knows. He bought the house to hide his father, and his father spilled every plan he had to capture the girl. He knew that, hatred for his father he doesn't blame. Perhaps though, it is his greedy nature that leads him not to understand why should would throw away the life Onigumo provided for her. Perhaps it is the attachment he has grown for Katashi, but he cannot understand her abandonment of her son.

"What are you thinking about?" asks the boy, lips agape as he looks up at his brother. He smiles down at Katashi, and ruffles the black hair on his head. Katashi squeals, tiny hands grabbing at his large hand.

"I am thinking of your mother," he states plainly. He has told Katashi of his real mother before, though he has made it plainly clear that his real mother is a bitch and that he should always call Kagura his mother since Kagura is the one that cares for him, the one that cherishes him.

"Kagura?" he asks, though realization soon darns in his disproportianate eyes. "Rin..." he murmurs. The child calls his own mother by her name whenever he talks of her. The child has no attachment to the woman Rin, has no love, only harbors hatred despite his young hatred. Brainwashing, some might call it, awful, dispecable, gross, abuse, but it is what the harlot Rin deserves, and how her son Katashi should think of her.

"Katashi," he begins, "how do you envision your mother?"

"En-vi-shun?" the little boy asks.

"How do you see her?" he explains. "What do you think she looks like? How do you think she talks? What do you think she does for a living? What do you think she thinks? If you met her in person, how would you expect her to look at you, talk to you, smile at you?"

The little boy looks down to his fiddling fingers, chewing on his lip. "If I met Rin, I think she would hate me," the boy says thoughtfully. "You always tell me she would, and I believe Naraku. I think she wouldn't smile at me, that she would push me away, and say mean things to me. I don't think I'd like her."

Naraku nods. Kagura walks in to take the boy, leave Naraku in the silence of his thoughts. Even if the boy, the reminder, has left the room, his field of vision, he still thinks of the harlot.

He has been angry with Mastumoto Rin since she killed his father. He didn't mind her the times he'd met her, she seemed sweet, a good actress. And his father had loved her. He approved of her, even found her attractive. There were nights she was the object of his fantasies.

But then she killed his father, ran away, left him with her child. He hated her. His fantasies of her no longer had her writhing beneath him, moaning wantonly. No, her blood ran liked rivers and she begged for forgiveness. He searched for her, wanted to find her and act out those fantasies. Burn her, cut her, tie her, hurt her, victimize her. High and low, all across Japan, but he began to assume that she had skipped the country and traveled. He kept a check on her case though, curious when he would find her and be able to hurt her.

At first, he hated the child. She was the product of his father's downfall, a child of the whore he hated so much. But he was left with the child. He considered giving him away to an orphanage, but the bonds of blide made her keep the boy. The boy grew though, in size and on him. When a man tried to murder the child for being in the way, he killed the man after hours of torture, and realized the depths of emotion he had for the boy.

"Naraku!" someone calls to him, snapping him from his musings. With a sigh, he turns to his business.

-[Chained]-

"If we have a child, what will we name him?" she asks before popping a pill into her mouth and washes it down with a gulp of water. It's just a minor hangover, but there is a bit of a hangover though. She glances at Sesshomaru who is waiting for toast to pop out of the silver toaster.

"Kaede," he replies as the toast pops out of the toaster, he grabs the pieces, shakes his hand, and grabs for the knife and butter. She smiles at him. "In honor of your grandmama, the woman you spoke so highly of, as if she was the goddess Amatarasu." He turns to her, and slides her the plate of toast. "And if it is a boy, will shall name him Shin'ichi. I've always liked that name," he takes a piece of toast off her plate and takes a bit of it.

"Go make your own!" she exclaims, slapping his hand away as he drops the piece of toast on he plain. He shoots her a glare, but does as she says, returns to the counter and plops in a piece of toast. "I like both of them. I think you would've love my grandmother if you ever met her."

"I'm certain I would've," he says as he slides back to her with his own plate of toast. "I'm certain I would've loved her," he says, dabbing butter on her nose and leaning forward to lick it off. She goofily smiles, leaning into capture his lips in a kiss full of passion.

"You're acting happy," she says when she pulls back and takes another bite of her toast. "Not that I mind," she continues with a shrug of her shoulders, "but you're acting much happier."

"Perhaps because the woman I love has returned to my life after five grueling years, I've finally had sex with her, twice, and we're engaged," he pauses to take a bite of his toast. "What man wouldn't be happy? It's a blessing, a gift from the gods." He grins at her and she smiles at him. "Coffee?"

"I would love some."

He walks over to the counter and begins the process of making coffee. She hums a happy song as she eats her toast, until she drops the toast onto her a plate, a shocked gasped passing her lips as she glances at Sesshomaru who is watching her expectantly.

"You have a child already, don't you?" the words echo in her mind.

Silence spans, but she realizes as she looks at him, he is not full of judgment or hatred. It's honest question born from the love he has for, and she nods. Because she does have a child, as much as she tries to push him from her mind. Or at least, she did. Whether or not Katashi, her baby, is alive, is unknown to her. He was left in the clutches of Naraku, who had every reason to hate her and the son of her womb.

"It wasn't my choice," she whispers softly, eyes down cast as she feels the tell-tale stinging below her eyes. "I did want a child, but Onigumo was threatening you life." He opens his mouth to argue with her, but she levels a glare at him. "You could not have protected yourself from Onigumo. He would've had you killed, no questions, no arguments. He had powers and connections. I had to play along, be his lover, kiss him I like I wanted it, give myself to him like I loved, and smile when I learned the news. I had a child, yes."

"What happened to him?" he asks, sliding the mug of coffee in front of her. "And why didn't you think you could tell this to me? I wouldn't have judged you or not wanted you. You're Rin, I will always love you no matter what. A child would not make me lost interest."

"The day I escaped, Onigumo had Naraku taking care of him. That's why I took that opportunity. I escaped. Later I learned Onigumo shot himself after I left. I'm a little surprised, I thought would've been angry and gone after me. I never knew what happened to my boy, whether he's alive, dead. I think he would be four now," she says. She looks up at him, frowning in sorrow. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to bring it up. I feel terrible over it. I left behind a child in the hands of a monster. I feel so guilty."

"Why didn't you escape with him then, at a different time?" he asks, taking a sip of his coffee.

She cannot answer this question. Not because she doesn't have an answer. It's because of the answer she cannot answer. What would Sesshomaru think of her if he learned she resented her own child? Could he still love her? He does not push the issue though, and sips his coffee in silence.

-[Chained]-

"Kagura!" yells Naraku, rushing into the room of his distant cousin. "Where is Katashi?" he asks in a panic.

He has been looking for the boy everywhere around the house, in the kitchens, in the attic, in the basement, in torture chambers, in Katashi's room, in his own room, practically every room in the house. Actually, every room in the house. Finally he has gone to Kagura's room, where she sits smoking a cigarette and watching a game show.

"I told him to go play outside."

He had already checked outside, everywhere possibly of interest to the boy. Double-check and triple checked. No Katashi. Katashi was no where to be found, vanished into thin air. Though Katashi had vanished into thin air, he would not allow Katashi to become dust in the wind though.

"He's not out there," he grits out. She glances at him in boredom. He knows that while Kagura is tasked with taking care of the boy, and she does care to some extent, she is lazy. She does nothing for herself, at least, not unless he orders her to. She'd rather be watching South Korean dramas than actually mowing the lawn or making deals with criminals. "If you don't help me find him, we're gonna have a little trip downstairs."

He eyes widen and she gulps. She puts out the cigarette in the ash tray and is scrambling to her feet. He smirks at her before storming out of the room, Kagura on his heels like hell itself is chasing after them.

"Where do you think he could've gone?" she asks in her accented voice. She spent about thirteen years whoring herself out on the streets of New Jersey before he shipped her over, brought her out of her poverty and depravity and told her to raise Katashi. So she's got a bit of New Jersey accent.

"I don't know," he hisses. "Hopefully not far, because if we don't find him soon, you're gonna wish I never brought you back from Jersey."

She gulps again and begins sliding every door open.

-[Chained]-

A pink balloon floats past them, traveling south while it travels upwards. She frowns at the balloon as it passes, knowing that there is some crying child missing the inflated object. But then she turns her attention back to the bag in hand and pulls out another wad of fluffy blue food and sticks it on her tongue while Sesshomaru at her side rolls his eyes.

After their earlier talk, to cheer her up from her gloomy mood, he told her to go put on something light. She did, returning in a pair of army green shorts, a cream-colored tank-top, and an orange bow in her head as he stood there in khaki shorts and a white Hawain-style shirt. Sure, she looked a bit more like she was sixteen rather than thirty, but where they were headed, well, it was just a bit childish.

An amusement park.

Now they strolled down the paved path, couples and children passing them by in all directions, screams echoing in the background as rollar-coasters woosh by, clacking and clicking against metal tracks. Under her arm, she carries a blue lion, and in her hand is a bag of blue cotton candy. He walks beside her, arms shoved into his pockets, sunglasses resting on his head, taking in the sight with his golden eyes.

He points to a couple crying. "Tell me a story about them," he orders. She looks at him oddly because of the odd request, one eye-brow raised. "It's a game," he replies. She rolls her eyes, shoves the last of her cotton candy in her mouth, throws away the bag, and thinks, eye brows knitted together.

"His name is Bunta and hers is Atsuko. He is a year above her in high-school and she is in love with him. She thinks she has caught him on a date with his fellow classmate Izumi. She has been following them around the park, and just tripped and skinned her knee. He noticed her, and went to help her, where she just confessed his love for her," she says, looking up at Sesshomaru.

"Sounds like an anime," he says. She blushes, and tries to cover it with a laugh but he catches it. "Now you pick one and I have to tell a story about them." She nods and looks around at the people.

"Those two," she says, pointing at an old couple feeding birds on a bench. It does not take him long to come up with the story.

"His name is Hibine, and she is Jin. They were childhood enemies, from two families who held a feud. They grew up in all the same school and all the same classes. They parted during college, and he went to the US to become a successful business man after college. She stayed home and become a successful realtor. They've finally met again here in the park, feeding birds, and confess to each other that all these years they've missed one another."

"Aww..." Rin looks at Sesshomaru with doe eyes and he looks down at her smugly. "That was so sweet, I feel crying. Adorable. I hope they get married," she says with a smile. "Your turn."

He looks around and points to a couple playing darts at one of the booths. Her mouth quirks as she scratches her chin, observing them. He watches her with wry amusement as she does so.

"Her name is Moto and his name is Ringo. They're sweethearts in high-school, he's a jock and she's a cheerleader. But recently she learned her parents are moving their family to South Korea because of her father's work. She'll be leaving in a week so they came out here to spend some of their last moments together, though they will try to make a long distance relationship work." He nods his head as Rin peers through the swarms of people. She points to a woman bent over a trashcan, a man stroking her hair gently.

"She is Oki, he is Riki. They've been together four years, and are married. They came here today to celebrate their anniversary, and they will be going to a fancy French restuarant later on today. She hasn't told him yet, but she is pregnant and she is having morning sickness, though he thinks she is just sick because of the rollar coaster."

He scans the crowds, and then points to a little boy looking around. Rin does not begin to think of story when her eyes land on the boy.

"I thinks he lost," she says, concern etched into her features. Sesshomaru is about to make a witty remark, but she is already bounding away to the little child.

"Little boy, are you lost?" she asks, coming to stand behind him and tap him on the shoulder. He looks up to her with red-tinted eyes, wide and on the verge of crying. His lower lip is quivering, his nose a bright red as the rest of his face is pale.

"Uh-huh," he murmurs, nodding his head. She nods her head back and scans the crowd.

"What do your mommy and daddy look like?" she asks, looking back down at him.

"My brother has black hair and red eyes, and my mom has black hair and red eyes." She nods her head, scanning the crowds again. But then her heart stops.

"My brother's name is Naraku, my mommy's is Kagura, and I'm Katashi."


End file.
